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By Ray Hickson

Trainer James Cummings isn’t taking Saturday’s Group 2 $400,000 Petaluma Hobartville Stakes (1400m) for granted but can’t helped but be taken by exciting colt Aft Cabin.

The three-year-old looms large over the Hobartville as a $1.65 favourite with TAB on Thursday, and a dominant $1.80 elect in next month’s Group 1 Randwick Guineas over a mile.

On the back of Aft Cabin’s easy Eskimo Prince Stakes first-up win Cummings said the world is his oyster at the moment and while he’s bullish there’s still a race to be run and won.

“He’s so lightly raced that you can’t help but think we haven’t quite yet hit the lid on that horse,’’ Cummings said on RSN.

“He’s going to find his way into the Guineas once he gets through this Hobartville. It will be a good test for our horse.

“This is a solid race at set weights for a good purse so there’s going to be no giving it away when it comes to tackling his opposition here."

Aft Cabin will meet similar rivals in the Hobartville with the first five home, plus seventh, from the Eskimo Prince taking the step up to 1400m.

Aside from the distance, there’s not a lot different for Aft Cabin, to be ridden by Tim Clark, as jumps from barrier 10 in the 11 horse field as opposed to seven of nine first-up.

Aft Cabin wins the Eskimo Prince on February 4

Cummings said the colt, who clocked a slick 33.22 (Punter's Intelligence) last 600m first-up, has progressed and will need to if he’s to keep winning but certainly isn’t fazed by the post position.

“I can see him being prominent in the run, I can see him coping with the step up to seven furlongs,’’ he said.

“He’s going to have to knuckle down and keep playing better every time he turns up against these other outstanding three-year-olds as he heads towards attempting to claim a stake in a Group 1 contest.

“We’ve been really delighted with the progress of the horse. In the Eskimo Prince he couldn’t have started his campaign any better than he has and so far things have been so straightforward we can’t help but be confident.

“He had run of the race stuff first-up, he was able to be forward in a seven furlong race in a Caulfield Guineas Prelude and it will be no surprise to see him in that position.”

Godolphin won last year's Hobartville with superstar Anamoe while back in 2018 Kementari claimed the race on the way to winning the Randwick Guineas.

Meanwhile, Cummings pointed to a change of plans for Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile who wasn’t among the Hobartville nominations and could stick to weight-for-age in the short term.

Golden Mile was no match for Mariamia first-up in the Expressway Stakes (1200m) and could head to the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) next months.

“I wasn’t rapt with the horse last week to be really getting stuck into him to be ready for the Hobartville,’’ he said.

“I decided by Monday this week it was going to come too quick even though he had a run under his belt. It’s unlikely he would run in either (the Randwick or Australian) Guineas.

“I’d be leaning a lot more at this stage to run in a race like the Canterbury Stakes on the 4th of March but we’ll get through next week before that becomes clear.”

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