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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Matthew Smith will go looking for opportunities to qualify Miracle Spin for the Big Dance in 2024 if he can establish himself as a talented miler this preparation.

Trainer Matthew Smith (Pic: Bradley Photos)

He found out earlier this year that 2400m is beyond the five-year-old’s range so is hopeful he can show in the Chandon Garden Spritz Handicap (1600m) on Saturday that the Randwick mile is right up his alley.

There’ll be no shortage of chances coming up for Miracle Spin to join stablemate Floating in the $3 million Big Dance next November and Smith wants to see the horse be a little less one-dimensional in his races.

“It seems to me that he’s good in that 1600m-1800m range,’’ Smith said.

“He won’t go beyond 2000m, I’d like to leave him around a mile. He has a good turn of foot, if we can just get him to jump a bit better which he did the other day.

“With the blinkers on now he might be able to race a bit closer.

"You’ve got to be midfield or forward of midfield and the problem is he doesn’t seem to do that often enough.”

Miracle Spin resumed with an eye-catching fifth over 1400m two weeks ago, clocking the race's second fastest last 600m of 34.54 (Punter's Intelligence), behind Felix Majestic.

Smith feels Miracle Spin had good depth to his form last preparation so if he can continue to work through the grades it opens up plenty of options.

He said it was a tough first-up run on a track a little firmer than he prefers but the gelding has bounced through it well and it was a case of just finding it a bit short.

“We’ve seen glimpses of what he can do. One day at Rosehill he came from last, he was really good late on a heavy track,’’ he said.

“He ran some sectionals from back in the field then he won at Scone after that.

“He put four really good runs in so if we can place him right hopefully he can put it all together.

“He should be competitive on Saturday, he should be right in that race.”

Stablemate Floating gained his Big Dance eligibility through his last start Nowra Cup win, a return to form for the grey that came as a relief to Smith.

He’ll need some of the sting to stay out of Randwick after the rain earlier in the week to be at his most competitive but Smith said he’s come through the win well.

“He had the right conditions, a track that suited him, and it was good to get him back that’s for sure,’’ he said.

“I just wanted to get him back into winning form and get into a Saturday race and see where we are at.

“We’ll try to place him well and get some prizemoney for his owners, that’s the most important thing. He’s always shown he can measure up in town but he needs a wet track.”

Miracle Spin's first-up run at Randwick on December 16

Smith is keeping expectations low with stayer Flambeur who runs out of his class in the Petaluma Handicap (2000m) after he had to miss a run due to a deteriorating Warwick Farm track last week.

His last win came in the Stony Creek Cup back in March but aside from a close up finish second-up he hasn’t really fired in four runs back.

“He’s had a bit of schooling between runs, but he’s just got to get in the right grade,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, stable star Buenos Noches is back in work with Smith likely to kick the four-year-old’s autumn campaign off in Melbourne.

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