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By Ray Hickson

They call the last 400m or so of a race ‘the business end’ but it’ll be the first 400m that decides whether Outrageous can win Saturday’s Group 2 $250,000 The Agency Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

Tommy Berry and Outrageous' co-trainer Michael Hawkes. (Pic: Steve Hart).

So says jockey Tommy Berry who is chasing the Festival Stakes-Villiers double on the Team Hawkes-trained five-year-old.

Berry has piloted the gelding at various stages through his 29 start career to date and the Festival, where he sat outside the lead and prevailed narrowly over Royal Celebration, was his first success on the horse but it also highlighted what needs to be done to ensure he runs out a strong mile.

“The mile a query for him, it’s a bit of a pain barrier especially if he gets pulling,’’ Berry said.

“It’ll all be about getting the first couple of furlongs right and if we can do that the rest will sort out itself. There’s a chance we could get a bit of cover behind Fun Fact and Greysful Glamour.

“He has nice tactical speed and will put himself in the race, there’s no doubt about that.”

On the surface it appears Outrageous may not run out a strong mile but dig deeper into his five starts at the 1600m and it’s not so clear cut.

As a colt he was beaten 2.8 lengths in the Group 1 Champagne as a two-year-old, 1.9 lengths in the Group 3 Spring Stakes, one length in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes and his only real failure came in the Caulfield Guineas.

As a gelding he finished 2.6 lengths behind Kolding in the Queensland Guineas of 2019.

In the 18 months since Outrageous has raced consistently and will be chasing a hat-trick for the first time in his career, Berry said it’s an illustration of where the horse is at these days.

“When he was a colt he was a bit hit and miss, he probably should have won a Group 1 as a two-year-old,’’ he said.

“After his gelding operation it’s taken a couple of preparations to settle in, now he’s fully matured he’s starting to reap the rewards.”

Outrageous was $7 with TAB on Friday and Berry hopes he won’t have to punch the breeze as he did in the Festival.

“I don’t think it will be run at a slow tempo, not with Greysful Glamour and Fun Fact in the race,’’ he said.

“They like to control and roll along at a bit of a speed, and that will suit my bloke.”

Berry is keen to see how two-year-old Overmann shapes up on debut in the $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m) after giving his only trial a very positive review.

The Hinchinbrook gelding, early $4.40 favourite with TAB, downed Acrobat (a rival again on Saturday) in his Rosehill trial on November 30.

“I like him, he gave me a nice enough feel,’’ Berry said.

“I didn’t really ask him for much but I did like when I asked for a little bit he put the leader away quite quickly then he switched off again.”

On the subject of where Overmann might find himself in the run, given he’s drawn 10 in the 12 horse field, Berry said he’s open minded.

“He feels like the type of horse I could have where I like in the race,’’ he said.

“A race is going to be different to a trial and how he handles the occasion is going to say a lot on the day.

Outrageous wins at Rosehill on November 28

“From the little experience I’ve had on him there’s not much nonsense about him, he’s a pretty well behaved horse with a good attitude and it will take him a long way.”

Four of Berry’s nine rides at Randwick are early favourites – Overmann of course, Tejori ($3.90) in the opening Highway, Accountability ($2.60) in the Christmas Cup and the emerging Snowfire ($5) who eyes four straight wins in the Fujitsu General Handicap (1400m).

The four-year-old signalled he could move through the grades this summer with a narrow first-up win over 1300m at Rosehill on November 20.

“The 1400m is going to suit him a lot better, it took him the whole length of the straight to get them first-up and Randwick is going to be more to his liking as well,’’ he said.

“I’m not sure how good he is, I don’t think he is top level but he might surprise me and keep improving.”

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