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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Annabel Neasham should have a clearer picture of where Top Ranked will be best suited during the autumn carnival after Saturday’s Group 1 $600,000 TAB Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

Trainer Annabel Neasham (Pic: Grant Guy)

The grey has 54kg in the $3m The Star Doncaster Mile and Neasham feels that’s his ideal Group 1 target for The Star Championships but given he’s only started once for the trainer she’s open to seeing what his limits are.

Twelve of Top Ranked’s 13 starts have been at a mile so it was encouraging that he was so competitive when running third in the $1m The Hunter (1300m) behind Lost And Running at his local debut back in November.

“It was the first time he’d been dropped in trip, we’d only had him a fortnight, so it was a pretty good run,’’ she said.

“He works like a very good horse, he looks like a good horse, his form reads like he’s a good horse and nothing is suggesting otherwise.

“I think he has adapted, the proof will be in the pudding.”

Top Ranked was $11 with TAB on Wednesday in a Chipping Norton Stakes that contains eight Group 1 winners including Horse Of The Year Verry Elleegant ($3).

He’s never raced on a heavy track but has a Group 1 placing at Newbury behind Palace Pier on a soft track in his European form and he seemed to stride out well on a heavy surface in his second trial this time in.

Neasham said she can only see the six-year-old running the sort of race first-up that will set him up for whatever she wants to point him towards in the coming weeks.

“I’m not necessarily expecting him to go and win first-up over a mile against a very good field,’’ she said.

“But I’d be disappointed if he didn’t run well on what he’s showing so far.

“I think the Doncaster would be a lovely race and you wouldn’t rule out a Queen Elizabeth with him. He’s never stretched beyond a mile but I think in Australia we’ll see him beyond a mile.

“He’s always worked really well, he’s a great workmate with Zaaki and it’s a pleasure to watch them both.”

The Warwick Farm trainer has a strong bunch of youngsters vying for Golden Slipper berths and she can’t wait to see what Lady Laguna produces in the Group 2 $200,000 Furphy Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m).

Lady Laguna already has a heavy track win to her name, by four lengths, from her second race start back in November and returned with a luckless second behind Cythera in the Lonhro Plate (1000m) at Randwick three weeks ago.

“She was three wide the trip from a slightly awkward gate,’’ Neasham said.

“Most horses first-up off a layoff would probably tire, especially a two-year-old, but she stuck to the task.

Top Ranked runs third in a trial at Warwick Farm on February 14

“The beauty with her is it can be a heavy 10 or a good 3 and she won’t mind either way.”

Since that race Cythera has finished third in the Group 2 Silver Slipper while Lady Laguna had a cruise around to win a barrier trial on her home track.

“It was three weeks between runs so we just used it as a gallop. We wanted to try the winkers on her which Hugh (Bowman) felt probably made no difference either way,’’ she said.

“It was a super trial and she’s ticking over beautifully.”

Neasham has Man In The Mirror and Nobel resuming in the Group 2 $200,000 Elite Sand & Soil Skyline Stakes (1200m) on Saturday while Mumbai Jewel and Wild Calm will contest the Reisling Stakes on Saturday week.

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