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By Ray Hickson

If there’s a danger to superstar Anamoe in Saturday’s Group 1 $1m The Agency George Ryder Stakes (1500m) trainer James Cummings believes it could come from within his own camp.

Godolphin trainer James Cummings (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Golden Mile will also carry the Godolphin blue colours in the race that has in recent years, particularly when Winx was involved, stolen the limelight from the Golden Slipper and Cummings is expecting the three-year-old to be a major player.

Anamoe, eyeing his ninth Group 1 win, stifles the market at $1.60 with TAB on Friday while Golden Mile, coming off a fourth in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m), sits at $12.

“He might be the main danger to Anamoe,’’ Cummings said on SEN.

“He’s really come on well from his run in the Canterbury Stakes. It actual fact his run in the Canterbury Stakes was a personal best for the horse and to do that off a five week break and a little setback was a big effort.”

The Group 1 $4m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) in two weeks is Golden Mile’s target so it’s no surprise Cummings is placing high expectations on the colt even in the face of taking on the best horse in his stable.

He’s already a Group 1 winner of the Caulfield Guineas and downed recent Randwick Guineas winner Communist to win the Group 2 Callander-Presnell at the end of his spring.

“At weight for age with 56kg on his back in the George Ryder, these three-year-olds have a tendency to run very well,” Cummings said.

“These horses are going to have to run well to beat Golden Mile, there’s no doubt about how well that horse is going.”

All that said, Cummings is rapt with how Anamoe has come on since his Chipping Norton Stakes win last month as he prepares for his Australian swansong in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes in three weeks.

A year ago Cummings elected to tackle the Rosehill Guineas, which he won by almost seven lengths, at this meeting instead of the Ryder and he felt going to 2000m too soon would be detrimental to Anamoe’s prospects in his finale.

“We formed the view we prefer to prepare Anamoe more as a miler than a mile and a quarter horse,’’ he said.

“It suited Anamoe far more to go through the George Ryder to keep him that little bit sharper and only have the one run stepping up to 2000m in the Queen Elizabeth.

“Gee we were pleased with the way he went through his paces during the week.

“He’s absolutely on song, he’s in frightening good form and we can’t be any more enthusiastic about taking him to the races third-up this campaign in the time honoured George Ryder.”

Anamoe wins the Chipping Norton Stakes

There’s an air of confidence that Pericles can give Cummings and jockey James McDonald successive wins in the Group 1 $600,000 Sky Racing Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

Cummings said Pericles has had a much smoother transition up in distance than in the spring where he was rushed to 2000m before finishing midfield in the Victoria Derby.

“Last preparation I stepped the horse up from 1400m to 2000m and the horse was excellent without winning,’’ he said.

“This time he’s got a really good foundation, he’s coming off that Derby prep. He had a good break and two excellent runs back and I can just see him running a big race for James McDonald.”

Pericles was a runaway winner of the Group 2 Autumn Classic (1800m) at Sandown and on the back of that holds favouritism at $2.40 with TAB on Friday.

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