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By Ray Hickson

Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer is happy enough to have talented sprinter Bon Amis back in his comfort zone at Rosehill on Saturday after luck deserted him in the Provincial Championship series.

And the punters seem to agree as the lightly raced four-year-old opened with TAB at $4.60 and was $2.90 on Wednesday evening in the Ascot Restaurant Sprint (1200m).

Deamer said while the Championships was his main aim this preparation he’s trained on well and expects the horse to produce his best.

“He had no luck in the Final, posted four wide, and it just told on him the last 100m,’’ Deamer said.

“At this stage of his career he’s probably better suited back to 1200m.

“To get 1400m he probably needs to draw a good barrier and get a nice cruisy run. Over time he might be able to run a strong 1400m.’’

Bon Amis runs a gallant fifth in the Provincial Championships Final at Randwick on April 14

As Deamer alluded, Bon Amis had a hard luck story in the Provincial Final and he may have won his local qualifier had he not uncharacteristically missed the start.

Punters Intel shows the gelding covered an extra 9.8m, more than any other runner, and overhead vision on the app illustrates he faced the breeze the whole way.

Bon Amis burst onto the scene late last year winning his first four starts including explosive wins at Newcastle and Rosehill and while he’s been beaten in his last five attempts Deamer is confident the best is yet to come.

“We gave him an easy week after the Final and got back into him,’’ he said.

“He’s drawn well and Jason (Collett) is riding very well, he should be pretty hard to beat.

“It’d be nice to have a Group 1 horse but he’s only a four-year-old and maybe in time he might get to Listed or Group 3.

“We’ll take things run by run, see how he goes on Saturday, it’d be nice to get a couple more out of him with the races in Sydney worth $100,000.’’

The travelling companion down the highway for Bon Amis is four-year-old mare Bonita who takes her place in the Flexi 6 Membership Sprint (1100m).

Bonita resumed with a third placing over the 1000m at Muswellbrook and Deamer is hoping for a bit more luck from the wide barrier on Saturday – though is realistic about her chances.

“It’s only a small field, she’s drawn wide but she has a light weight and she’d be a rough chance,’’ he said.

“She was caught wide but the first two horses beat her comfortably. She was first-up without a trial so she might have finished a bit closer with a better run.’’

Bonita is the outsider of the field at $23 with TAB.

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