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By Greg Prichard

Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer isn’t bothered by Rapt’s wide barrier draw in the opening qualifier of the Provincial-Midway Championship at Hawkesbury on Thursday and can’t believe the four-year-old is at such big odds.

Trainer Jason Deamer (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Rapt is being quoted as a $17 chance with TAB for the $150,000 race, from which the first and second placegetters will qualify for the $1 million Provincial-Midway Championships Final over 1400 metres at Randwick on April 12.

The mare’s best results have been achieved over 1600 metres. She is unbeaten over that distance, with three wins.

But the astute Deamer had a plan in place to freshen her up since her most recent race, over 1800 metres at Sunshine Coast on January 4, and he is confident that approach will lead to her being in the finish at Hawkesbury.

Rapt will start from the outside barrier in the 14-horse field.

“She had a week in the paddock and now it’ll be six-and-a-half weeks between runs,” he said. “She’s freshened up nicely and is fit and ready to go.

“The distance is a couple of hundred metres short of her best and after the paddock we shortened her work up, didn’t stretch her out too far.

“She’s only lightly-framed so we don’t go too hard on her anyway and she had an 1800-metre run at her last start so she hasn’t needed a lot of work.

“Not a lot of hard gallops anyway and that has sharpened her up a bit.

“It’s not an easy race but I can’t believe the price she is considering her last couple of runs.

“The barrier’s not a concern because she goes back anyway. She’ll be closer to last than first, maybe even right back in last, but she’ll be storming home at the finish.”

The very experienced jockey Tim Clark will ride Rapt and although he is well-known for being able to perfectly rate front-running horses he is also adept at producing them from off the pace to win.

He did that two starts back on Rapt when he settled her down in eighth place in a Midway Benchmark 72 race over 1600 metres at Randwick and then urged her forward to be in fifth place turning for home.

Rapt got stuck right into her work from there and after hitting the lead 150 metres from home she was eased down over the closing stages for a soft win.

Her last start was in the $500,000 The Wave, a weight-for-age race restricted to Magic Millions-eligible horses, and while she again made up ground in the straight she finished seventh, beaten just under two lengths.

That was the first time Rapt had raced over further than 1600 metres.

“I know it was restricted to Magic Millions horses, but she was in a weight-for-age race last start and she’s coming back to restricted Provincial-Midway conditions,” Deamer said.

“She gets in quite well at the weights on her benchmark rating.

“Her win second-up this campaign at Randwick was very good and she’s proved she can hold her form right throughout a campaign and handle wet or dry conditions.

“Tim knows how to ride her, so she’ll get back and work her way into it and she’s got a good turn of foot at the finish.

Rapt wins a Midway at Randwick on December 21

“We’ve just got to hope for a decent pace and have her getting into the clear not too far off them at the top of the straight.

“Hawkesbury should suit her. It’s got a good, long run in, it suits the backmarkers and we’ll be swooping home late.”

All the fields, form and replays for Thursday's Hawkesbury meeting