Travolta stamped himself as a stayer on the rise at Rosehill and is now poised to head to the Listed Wyong Cup (2100m) later this week.

The Chris Waller-trained gelding, ridden by apprentice Siena Grima, carried 59.5kg with her three-kilo claim and came from the back to win Saturday’s Wests Group Macarthur Handicap (2000m). Sent out a $6.50 chance, he finished strongly to score by 1-1/4 lengths over She’s Unusual ($10), with favourite Tazima ($2.20) close behind in third.

Stable representative Charlie Duckworth said Travolta continued to surprise. “He keeps ticking the boxes and progressing and to tell you the truth, we don’t really know how far he can go,” Duckworth said. “He is a very exciting horse. He seems to be very push-button. It was good to see him do it on a dry track today… He obviously isn’t just a wet tracker, so he’s got a very bright future. He might back up and go to Wyong on Friday.”

For Grima, the win marked her first Saturday metro triumph, coming just weeks after her midweek breakthrough. It also erased the disappointment of narrowly missing victory aboard Travolta a fortnight ago when James McDonald pipped her on Amusing. “She was shattered to have come up against ‘J Mac’ last time and they had a bit of a match again today,” Duckworth said. “Delighted for her and delighted for the owners.”

Waller’s strong Cup hand could include Saltcoats, Tajanis and Hutchins alongside Travolta, with the Wyong feature doubling as a qualifier for the Big Dance.