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Hawkesbury trainer Garry Frazer is desperately hoping for a drier track at Royal Randwick on Saturday week (Day 2 of The Championships) for his star filly Spright.

Frazer declared the Hinchinbrook filly ready to return to racing in the $600,000 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m) after she won a barrier trial at home this morning. With race jockey Corey Brown aboard, Spright was too strong for her rivals at the end of the 1000m trial in 60.51 secs (last 600m in 34.8s), run on a Heavy 8 surface.

Left: Spright in full flight. The three-year-old will be hard to beat during The Championships. Image by Bradley Photographers

“Corey said she was still a bit hesitant on the wet ground, but she has such a great will to win,” Frazer said. “I’d love to see some continued drier weather and get a better track for her on Saturday week.” The Arrowfield carries Group 2 status and is run at set weights, with fillies to carry 54.5kg.

Spright created such a big impression last spring, carrying all before her in three starts (two in Sydney and the other in Group 3 company at the Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington). After a first-up third to Global Glamour in the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on February 13 on a good surface, Spright then was never comfortable on heavy ground when eighth to La Bella Diosa in the Group 2 Surround Stakes (1400m) at the same track 12 days later.

“I gave her an easy couple of weeks in the paddock at home after the Surround,” Frazer said. “She is going well; we just need a firmer track for her to show her best.”

Depending on Spright’s Arrowfield performance, Frazer will then map a Brisbane winter campaign for his filly, again with fingers crossed for the right weather conditions.

Fellow Hawkesbury trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith won the other 1000m Open trial with Romney’s Choice (apprentice Crystal Conning) in 60.80 secs (last 600m in 34.6s), in which stablemate and Group 1 winner Famous Seamus (Jay Ford) ran third. The Frazer-Brown combination split the Mayfield-Smith pair with Go Benny.