Trainer Ben Hayes insists that War Machine should not be judged harshly on his effort in The Everest, where nothing went right for the talented Group 1-winning sprinter.

War Machine looks to reboot his spring preparation when he contests the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes over 1300 metres at Randwick on Saturday.

The gelding finished 10th in The Everest, an effort Hayes believes was much better than it appeared on paper.

“He sprinted really well fresh and then got a bit crowded and a bit further back than we wanted in the Everest and then he was good through the line,” Hayes said.

“The 1300 is right up his alley and he’ll now be third-up and ready to go and he’ll go really well.

“We go to the Russell Balding and then we’ve got the Orr Stakes on the 15th (of November) and that’s probably been his Grand Final race for the spring.”

War Machine’s first run of the campaign was a stylish win in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington, and before that he claimed elite-level success in the Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane.

Starting as one of the main betting chances in The Everest, War Machine was caught in traffic early and never obtained clear running, but Hayes has been encouraged by what the data showed.

“Obviously we were a little disappointed with his Everest run, but he did actually finish off really strongly and ran quite good sectionals. I think only Angel Capital ran better sectionals than him,” Hayes said.

“He’s got a lot of improvement (to come), he’s only third-up into the Russell Balding, so don’t discount him.”

Regular rider Tim Clark remains aboard and barrier seven gives the stable confidence of a more favourable run.

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