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By Ray Hickson

There’s an art to riding horse that’s trapped wide and trainer Ron Quinton says his apprentice Andrew Adkins is one that has mastered it.

It’s a big rap for Sydney’s champion apprentice and an important vote of confidence as Adkins will again have to guide his favourite mare Daysee Doom from an outside gate in the Group 3 $150,000 Angst Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Again because that was the scenario Adkins faced as he guided Daysee Doom to a gutsy win over stablemate Dixie Blossoms in the Golden Pendant.

“Andrew has kept improving all the time. Blind Freddie could have seen he couldn’t have done anything else the other day,’’ Quinton said.

“You have to keep them balanced. There’s not too many riders who can ride wide.

“Jim Cassidy was a genius at it, Hugh Bowman can do it. Not too many can sit wide and not panic and not get itchy fingers.

“During that race I’m saying to myself ‘stay there Andrew, don’t go any closer, stay there’ and he rode her perfectly.’’

For his part Adkins said he was between a rock and a hard place on Daysee Doom at Rosehill.

But given he’s used to having to overcome a wide alley on the mare he’s looking at the positives and highlighted the fact that there’s basically a 600m straight run from the mile start.

“That’s the best thing, we can take our time,’’ Adkins said.

“I can let things happen and I don’t want to over think it but plan A is to jump out and be forward, hopefully one-one.

“The tempo wasn’t quick enough or slow enough (at Rosehill) so I had to sit there and keep her as balanced and in rhythm as I could and let her get around the turn before I asked her to extend.

“She shows that good turn of foot then she holds that top speed for a fair while. When the stablemate came at her she held her off pretty easily and if anything picked up again in the last 50m.’’

Asking a trainer with Quinton’s numbers to pick between two in-form mares like Daysee Doom and Dixie Blossoms is akin to asking them to pick a favourite child.

He said there has to be a question mark over Daysee Doom at a mile while Dixie Blossoms won the Angst last year and ran fourth in the Group 1 Myer Classic over the trip.

“She’s on trial at the 1600m so she will need a bit of luck all right. It’s a hard Randwick mile but she’s tough as old boots and she will run well I’m sure,’’ Quinton said.

“It appears there’s no problem there with Dixie. I can’t split them up unless I send one to Melbourne early but there’s nothing down there until the Tristarc again.

“There’s not much between them but the barrier draw might even that up a bit.’’