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Trainer Damien Lane is adamant Just Fields has the talent to be a stakes winner but he’d like to see her put it all together in restricted company first at Randwick on Saturday.
The mare is one of three horses the Wyong trainer has engaged in the $100,000 Midway Handicap (1200m) and she will be sporting new colours, those carried to victory in last week's Midway by Zorocat, to set her apart from stablemate Buckin' Beauty who is raced in similar interests.
Just Field produced an eye-catching second behind Our Bellagio Miss in the inaugural Midway two weeks ago and Damien Lane is hoping Saturday's race pans out a lot kinder for her than it did at Rosehill.
"She's got loads of ability, she's just a little bit quirky and probably needs things to go her way being a backmarker. But that's the way she races best,'' Lane said.
"The runs didn't come when (Josh Parr) wanted them the other day and she was good when she finally got out. It looks a nice enough race for her.
"Ability wise I think she's up to Listed grade and she probably showed that at Hawkesbury (in the Rush in May). When things go her way she's got above average ability."
The four-year-old has had a checkered preparation including a couple of eye-catching performances at Listed level then she threw the rider at the start of a race at Randwick at the end of May.
That forced Lane to barrier trial her, she won that easily, before her luckless second two weeks ago where, despite being held up, she easily clocked the race's fastest last 600m of 34.15 (Punter's Intelligence).
"She's drawn softer but in saying that it doesn't worry me when she draws wide because I do think she's better when she gets out wide,'' he said.
"She can reel off some good sectionals when she's out on her own.
"But she's going to get a softer run early then hopefully Josh can get her to the outside down the running and if she gets a bit of luck she should be competitive for sure."
While Just Field, $4.80 with TAB on Wednesday, is rightly the top seed Lane said he was rapt with Buckin' Beauty's fifth placing in the same Midway race while he's hoping to get talented galloper Bombasay back to his best form.
Buckin' Beauty ($15) raced wide on the speed last start and was still holding down a placing until just inside the last 100m so Lane would like to see her have a softer run if possible from another outside alley.
"I thought she was enormous, she was three and four deep the trip and for a couple of strides I thought she was going to be the pick of them,'' he said.
"She was entitled to get a bit tired late with the tough run that she had. Unfortunately she's come up with a horror draw again but I don't know that there'll be as much speed as the other day.
"It looks to map better than it did last time. She hasn't got as much ability as Just Field but she's tough and competitive and has blistering gate speed. She doesn't have to lead but if she can be in the first three of four you know what you're going to get."
Lane thought Bombasay ($31) was going to shape up to the Provincial Championships earlier this year after he ended last spring with a win in a support race on TAB Everest Day.
But the five-year-old has been a bit in the wilderness this time around though Lane saw enough in his recent trial and last start sixth behind Matowatakpe at Warwick Farm to suggest he could be on the way back.
"It was a wet track where the rail was off, he's a horse that loves a rail so we elected to go up the fence and he had 60.5kg that day,'' he said.
"He drops in weight and has drawn a soft gate, he's probably better at 1400m but he's got more ability than his last few runs suggest."
"If there's genuine speed and he's not overdoing it he maps to get a nice run."
