Trainer Angela Davies will use the Festival Stakes at Rosehill as a Villiers Stakes litmus test for her emerging galloper Through The Cracks.

Border trainer Mitchell Beer will delay his return to metropolitan racing in Melbourne until the weekend despite having two runners at the midweek meeting at Sandown. Of Wednesday.

Trainer Joe Pride believes short-course specialist Royal Witness has returned in career-best order and is on target for his stakes test at Moonee Valley.

Another of the world’s biggest races is the Japan Cup run at Tokyo on Sunday.