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A win over the Golden Slipper champ is a sexy last start formline carried by Godolphin colt Corniche and trainer James Cummings hopes he can pick up where he left off in Saturday’s Group 3 $250,000 Smithfield RSL San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill.
The Fastest Rock colt missed the Slipper despite his 1-1/2 length win over Shinzo in the Skyline Stakes and Cummings said on SEN it's now up to Corniche, who he's taken along patiently, to back it up.
It's likely Corniche will be Godolphin's only representative in the San Domenico with James Cummings indicating Barber may well stay at home after drawing the outside alley.
"The horse has come up quite well. I like the way he's going about his work,'' Cummings said of Corniche.
"He's come to hand well, he's got X Factor formline as a last start winner over Shinzo.
"Shinzo was on the worst part of the track on the day and obviously improved jumping out of the ground in the Pago Pago and the Slipper. Nevertheless this horse defeated him."
Nash Rawiller partners Corniche, $5 with TAB on Thursday, who has trialled impressively with a Hawkesbury win in July and a second to stablemate Zapateo at Randwick just over a week ago.
Barber has trialled three times in preparation for his spring campaign and Cummings said he doesn't want to waste a first-up run from a testing draw as he feels he has the colt humming.
"We're doing our best to screw him down and have him ready first-up because he has a wonderful first-up record,'' he said.
"Sometimes wide barriers can work out beautifully but this wide barrier looks like trouble for that horse."
Lightly raced five-year-old Marquess carries favouritism into the Mounties Group Handicap (1500m) as he chases four wins on the bounce, split by almost a year after he resumed with a dynamic midweek win.
Cummings said he's impressed with the way the gelding, $2.70 with TAB on Thursday, has progressed and while up in grade will relish the extra 200m in trip.
He said from the inside alley James McDonald should be able to afford him the run of the race and have his chance to measure up.
"It is a good step up for this horse and if he can make this leap in such a short turnaround it would bode very well for the rest of his campaign,'' he said.
"You could probably deduce the horse is able to get himself quite fit naturally given he was able to win first-up from a long time out.
"He should be at his most comfortable when he's out racing over distances further than he's been so far in his short career. It'll be interesting to see just how far he goes.
"He's on the way up but this is a big leap for him so we will be interested to see if he can take that step forward."
On Tom Kitten (race 7): "If he resumes with a promising first-up run we will be more than pleased. Giving Caballus 4kg is not going to be easy. This is a starting point for him but we like the way he's going through the preliminary stages of his campaign. It's not impossible he could be ready to go in a Spring Champion Stakes in October."
