The first three across the line in the Carrington Stakes are set to renew their rivalry in Gosford’s feature sprint.
Dances On Stars claimed an overdue stakes win in the Carrington (1100m) at Randwick on New Year’s Day by a short neck from Hidden Warrior with Dee’n’Gee a half neck third.
Trainer Gerald Ryan will make a final decision on Friday’s $100,000 Listed Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) later in the week but said the four-year-old had come through his last run well.
“He’s done super. He deserved the win and it didn’t seem to take much out of him,” Ryan said.
“He went into the Carrington without a trial so I’ll just see if he continues do as well as he has.
“I will make a decision on Wednesday whether he backs up. He does race very well fresh.”
Before his Carrington win, Dances On Stars had been stakes placed on five occasions, four times in races won by Sizzling including last year’s Queensland Guineas (1400m).
Ryan has geared his current campaign around shorter races.
The Paul Perry-trained Hidden Warrior ran his best race for some time in the Carrington and is also likely to be entered for the $200,000 Magic Millions Sprint on Saturday.
Trainer Clarry Conners has committed Dee’n’Gee to a Gosford start.
“I thought he went really well and he’s trained on so he will go to the Takeover Target Stakes,” he said.
“I can’t quite work out why the (Carrington) runner-up went up one ratings point and he went up two for coming third.
“But he’s been to Gosford twice before and won both times so it’s a good track for him.”
The race, formerly known as the Pacesetter, was renamed in honour of international sprint star Takeover Target’s first stakes win in 2004 and switched from the winter to summer last year.