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By Ray Hickson

With a shot at a $2 million race looming for handy mare One Aye, co-trainer Matt Jones says It can’t be understated how important it is that she performs at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Matt Jones

The target in question is the inaugural The Big Dance, run over the Randwick mile on November 1, and Jones, who co-trains with Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones, dearly wants her to be in the finish of the EGroup Protective Services Handicap (1600m).

When The Big Dance was announced, the family training partnership had already qualified She’s All In via winning the Nowra Cup and Room Number through taking out the Bega Cup but One Aye’s second in the Mudgee Cup earlier in the season had her unlikely to make the final field.

But the five-year-old secured her place when she took out the Forbes Cup in July and everything around it at city level tells Jones she’s in with a hope come The Big Dance.

“We already had Room Number and She’s All In but One Aye is probably our better horse and she hadn’t qualified,’’ Jones said.

“So we targeted Forbes and the result was as you could see. Once she won at Forbes the planning started. This was her plan going into the Big Dance.”

Prior to her Forbes Cup win, One Aye ran third at Rosehill behind Frumos and she went for a short break after a close fourth behind Niffler over the Randwick mile.

Unfortunately for connections of Room Number the mare suffered an injury and had to be retired while She’s All In is likely to contest the $500,000 Little Dance (1600m) on the same day as her rating has her facing being an emergency.

One Aye, $9.50 with TAB on Thursday for her Randwick race, is a $51 chance in The Big Dance but Jones said her last start fourth in the Group 3 Nivison (1200m) two weeks ago told him the mare is in good form.

In testing conditions she ran the third fastest last 200m of 13.29 (Punter’s Intelligence).

“It was a fantastic run, the jockey couldn’t see,’’ Jones said.

“(Tyler Schiller) said if we’d have got out a bit earlier she could have run third. But it was a good run, first-up on a heavy 10 and they called the races off not long after.”

Regular jockey Quayde Krogh is back on board and Jones said while One Aye is jumping from 1200m straight to the mile on Saturday it’s no disadvantage, particularly as she’s grown to like wet tracks.

She’s housed at the Sapphire Coast stable where she regularly works in heavy ground.

One Aye wins the Forbes Cup

“As a younger horse she didn’t like the wet. If we worked her in Canberra on the synthetic and you go to a heavy 10 it’s that much heavier for them,’’ he said.

“The way she’s working we’re really looking forward to it. So long as she’s hitting the line we go into the Big Dance with a chance.

“She’s drawn well and if she can finish in the top three or four we’ll be happy. You don’t want her to be going backwards.”

The 20 horse field, plus four emergencies, for the $2m Big Dance (1600m) will be finalised on Friday 28 October.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting