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By Ray Hickson

The good news about last season's champion two-year-old Fireburn is nothing’s changed as she prepares for her return at Rosehill on Saturday but the bad news, according to trainer Gary Portelli, is that nothing’s changed.

Trainer Gary Portelli (Pic: Steve Hart)

If that sounds strange it’s worth remembering the mind games the star filly seems to play with Portelli as she saunters around the training track but burns it up on race day.

It just means as Fireburn starts her three-year-old season in the Group 2 $250,000 Furphy Run To The Rose (1200m) the trainer says it’s impossible to know what to expect and you just have to trust what’s in her race record.

“I know she will turn up because you just know she has the ability to lengthen stride and run down horses in front of her on race day,’’ Portelli said.

“Where she gets that from I don’t see at home. It’s the most nerve racking thing to go to the races and not have a clue how she’s going.

“Physically she’s stronger but her trackwork is still as nonchalant as ever. She’s not out to impress anyone at any point but her trackwork hasn’t alluded to any sort of form change.”

So we, Portelli included, can only take that as a good sign. Her work isn’t mouth watering but she’s not showing any indication she won’t perform on race day.

It’s a completely different story with stablemate Sejardan.

Portelli said if the colt was the Golden Slipper winner resuming, instead of running an unlucky ninth, he’d be close to declaring he couldn’t be beaten based on how he’s presenting at home.

“He was my gun horse last time through, we were disappointed in the Slipper getting the interference putting him out of the race,’’ he said.

“Had he had the luck she had after the interference we might have been calling him the Golden Slipper winner.”

A sharp trial win backs up what Portelli is seeing at home where he says Sejardan is running times under a hold a lot of horses need significant urging to produce.

The Group 1 $1m Golden Rose (1400m) in two weeks will be the fork in the road for his preparation and the trainer is even open to a TAB Everest slot if he earned one.

“It’s unbelievable the power he’s got,’’ he said.

“I was going to aim him at races potentially up to 2000m, but the way he’s working at the moment if he was to win and someone came and said would you start him in an Everest I wouldn’t be shy.

“I’m not aiming at it but if he was to win well and someone said do you want a slot we’d entertain it because he’s so much sharper.

“I don’t know about his ability on real wet tracks, he handles it, but I think his go is going to be when he’s got firm footing and he can use that stride.”

Fireburn, of course, narrowly missed the rare two-year-old Triple Crown when she was beaten by She’s Extreme in the Champagne Stakes following dominant wins in the Slipper and Inglis Sires’.

It’s that record that earned her respect in TAB’s Run To The Rose market as she opened $6 on Wednesday after drawing gate seven with Sejardan, from barrier 10, an $8 chance.

Sejardan emerges from the fog to win a trial at Warwick Farm on August 29

Brenton Avdulla is on board the Slipper winner with Jason Collett partnering Sejardan.

Portelli has long said it’s likely Fireburn will have a light spring but he’s taking an open mind into Saturday’s race. He said her second trial was over 1200m so she wouldn’t need to be chased along and that he’s given her every chance to run a race.

“I’d love to see her win, especially after getting the two-year-old of the year award,’’ he said.

“I just want to see her striking out, hitting the line strongly. If she gets beaten because of the bias or barrier or has a legitimate excuse that’s okay.

“The way she works I’m prepared for the worst because that’s what you’ve got to be with her.

“It’ll all come down to how she goes first-up, if she runs well below expectations I might abort the whole campaign. The only thing I know is that she is going to be fit enough because she’s not telling us anything else.”

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