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By Ray Hickson

He might be classed as a ‘rookie’ trainer but Angus Stewart realises the importance of Saturday’s TAB Highway (1400m) at Rosehill for his Country Championships hopeful Scopics.

Trainer Angus Stewart

It’ll be the five-year-old’s 20th race start and therefore his final run before heading to Orange next month to contest the Central Districts Country Championships for the third time – and first for Stewart as a trainer.

The 21-year-old is also part-owner of Scopics with the horse's former trainer Dean Mirfin who suggested to Stewart he’d be an ideal horse to start out with under his own name.

He’s been working for Mirfin since he was 14, starting out as a stablehand before progressing to riding trackwork and acting as foreman so it’s not a surprise that his move into training as been a swift one.

“I’m finding transitioning to training pretty good,’’ Stewart said.

“I grew up showjumping and living in Bathurst there weren’t a lot of horsey type of things to do. Initially I wanted to be an apprentice jockey but that went out the window pretty quickly.

“Dean and I were going to train in partnership but I have a couple of different ways of doing things so I thought I’d see how I’d go on my own first. Down the track we still might go into partnership.

“Dean bought Scopics as a weanling and he was kind enough to give me a half share in the horse.

“He said to me a while ago if I got my trainer’s license he’d be happy to transfer him to me and I could mess around with him.”

While Stewart’s rise into the training ranks has been very hands on he’s also studied under the Team Thoroughbred NSW Training Academy banner through Racing NSW.

Scopics was his first runner, and obviously first city runner, when he ran fourth on the Kensington track back on December 6. He has five horses in work and when Tommy’s Girl runs at Kembla Grange on Thursday he’ll have had six starters.

He said both of the gelding’s runs under his name have been exciting, he followed his first-up fourth with a third in a strong TAB Highway at Randwick three weeks ago behind Sir Remlap and Highway Strip.

“His first-up run was really good, he got too far back on a leader biased track and was finding the line late. He didn’t have the ideal run and wasn’t beaten too far at all,’’ he said.

“I thought his Highway run the other day was enormous, the two horses that beat him are pretty nice. They’re probably better than him so he was strong to run third.

“Barrier one is a bit of a concern, I’d love to see him draw five or six. He’s not going to be leading or anything like that, we’ll probably be neutral out and see what Tommy (Berry) can do on him.

“I think he’s the best that he’s been all prep leading into this race.”

Naturally, Stewart wants to see Scopics in the finish of the Highway to tell him he’s on track for the CDRA Country Championships run on February 28.

In 2023, at just his fourth start, he finished fourth to Amicus Curiae in the race then last year he again ran fourth but was promoted to third when the winner was disqualified.

While he’s been to the regional Country Championships as an owner and a strapper, he said is a great prospect to be having a runner in a $150,000 race and potentially the $1 million Final.

Scopics runs third at Randwick on December 28

“That’s been the plan with him the whole way along. He’ll have a little freshen up and have a barrier trial, we’ll keep him ticking over,’’ he said.

“The first time he was a three-year-old having his fourth start in a race and he ran fourth, his run was enormous for a young horse to be racing in such a high pressure race.

“It was a good run last year too so, third time lucky, hopefully he can get up and get the job done.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting