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By Ray Hickson

She carries the same colours as Brad Widdup’s stable star Icebath and while she may not reach the same heights the Hawkesbury trainer is adamant the best is yet to come for staying mare Outlook.

Trainer Brad Widdup

The front-running four-year-old stayer is chasing her third win from her past four starts in the TAB Handicap (2400m) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

Widdup said a freshen up is in the mare’s near future but is rapt with how she’s thrived since he stepped her out past 2000m this season.

“I’m pretty adamant she will be better next time through,’’ he said.

“This preparation has been the making of her but she still does a few things wrong. She hit the front the other day and she wanted to stargaze but her sectionals on the day were pretty good.

“I still think she is still one more racing preparation away but I wanted to toughen her up a bit this time in. She’s taken a while to get there but I’m very happy with her.”

Outlook, $3.90 favourite with TAB on Monday, notched her maiden win over a mile back in April, her past two wins have come over 2300m at Newcastle and they were split by a close fourth over 2600m at Cranbourne.

Widdup said she was entitled to get a little tired in her last start win and while it is her sixth run for the preparation, fifth at 2000m or above, she’ll be even better for it and has the benefit of a 3.5kg drop, after Tom Sherry’s claim, on her latest success.

“Tommy’s had a ride on her now, we’d always planned for this race when we brought her back from Melbourne,’’ he said.

“She’ll have a bit of natural improvement from the other day which was a month between runs and she has the weight drop as well.

“There’s been a lot of effort to change over the last few years as far as not galloping them as hard and everyone’s been keeping their horses up a bit longer.

“You don’t train them for one race you train them for a preparation.”

Stablemate Authentic Jewel holds entries for a couple of other races later in the week but Widdup said she’s likely to take her place in the Bowermans Handicap (1000m) at Warwick Farm.

An easy first-up winner, the three-year-old had a forgettable trip to Ballarat for a Magic Millions race on November 20 and Widdup is happy to excuse it.

“She reared at the start and she was caught wide, she got on the wrong leg, nothing went right,’’ he said.

“She’s come back here very well and hopefully she can bounce back.”

Meanwhile, Icebath has transitioned from treadmill work to getting under saddle this week as Widdup works to trim the mare down after she piled on 50kg within three weeks of hitting the spelling paddock.

The five-year-old, who has over $3.7 million in the back, finally secured a big race win when she claimed the inaugural $2 million The Invitation (1400m) at Randwick in October but she’s still yet to notch a stakes win, she's already a dual Group 1 placegetter, and correcting that anomaly is a big priority.

“I’ve had a go at a Doncaster, an Epsom, a Cantala, a Golden Eagle. We’ve had a good crack,’’ he said.

Outlook wins at Newcastle on November 28

“It’d be nice to get a black type win with her first then we will worry about a Group 1. I’d love to get that for her and for me but that’s not easy to do.

“You know how hard it is, they don’t give them away.”

It’s likely a race such as the Group 2 Guy Walter Proven Thoroughbreds Stakes (1400m) on February 26 will be an early fork in the road for Icebath.

Weights may decide whether the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) is a possibility and Widdup is definitely keen for another shot at the $3m Doncaster Mile. Then there’s the flagship race of The Star Championships – the $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).

“I’d love to have a run at 2000m but I think she would have to run well in the Doncaster to back up. I wouldn’t do it for the sake of it,’’ he said.

All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday's Warwick Farm meeting