After a long journey back to peak form, Matt Hoysted is delighted with where Uncommon James stands in his return to racing.
The 2023 Oakleigh Plate champion showed signs of needing the run during his first-up appearance at Randwick on March 8. However, Hoysted remains confident that the six-year-old gelding has more to give, possibly in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill this Saturday.
A crucial workout at Rosehill on Monday will determine whether Uncommon James lines up in The Galaxy or holds off for the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) the following weekend.
“As long as he works well there and comes through it, we will accept for The Galaxy and assess after acceptances,” Hoysted said.
“We needed to see him back last start and have that zest for racing, which he did.
“He had almost ten months off and pulled up very ‘big’. They were carving out fast splits and he sustained a good gallop but felt the pinch over the last 100-metres which he was entitled to do,” he added, referencing his fourth-place finish in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m).
Uncommon James finished fifth in last year’s The Galaxy, but his form during the Brisbane Winter Carnival left much to be desired, finishing out of the placings.
“We did start to do things differently with him including giving him a nice break but it had more to do with him not appreciating the shifting surfaces that we had last winter,” Hoysted added.
“They were the worst runs of his career so we gave him a break but still weren’t happy with the way he came up, so we gave him another break and that has been the catalyst.
“He has come back a different horse. It was the best he’d looked for a long time but we still had to take it step-by-step, then his trials and jump outs were impressive.
“We saw him get back that enthusiasm to want to be there. That was the key and he is older now but still has that high-cruising speed and we’ll look to use that over further.”
Should he take his place in The Galaxy and emerge victorious, Uncommon James would become the first Queensland-based horse to claim the race since Temple Of Boom’s win for Tony Gollan in 2012.
