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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Edward Cummings is sending outstanding mare Duais into Monday’s $1.5m Kia Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Newcastle with no questions niggling at him and confident a third Group 1 win is within her reach.

Trainer Edward Cummings . (Pic: Bradley Photos).

It's also a race that will go a long way to defining what the rest of 2022 looks like for the Hawkesbury trainer's stable star.

She’s already a winner at the distance, easily accounted for several of her rivals last start under the weight-for-age conditions, has proven herself in the wet and is at the top of her game.

As they say, there’s plenty of boxes ticked.

“She’s had a pretty solid preparation to deal with (the track),’’ Cummings said.

“I think she’s had the most attractive preparation out of the horses in the race for that purpose.

“She’s always been handy, she’s taken a bit of time and she’s definitely helping put us on the map. She’s developing into a pretty nice horse.

“If she can run a good race, up to anywhere near her best, I think she will be very hard to beat.”

A dominant Australian Cup win two weeks ago was the four-year-old’s fourth victory at 2000m or above in seven attempts and an indication of her growing staying prowess.

“Her best ratings have come at 2000m and 2200m at this stage, and if they went half a second faster in the ATC Oaks she’d have won that too,’’ Cummings said.

“She’s been terribly unlucky. She’s been unlucky in races where she can be competitive but there are pacier horses. At 1400m, 1600m, maybe 1800m to a certain extent.

“The ATC Oaks and the Hill Stakes in the spring, two of the most slowly run races you’ll ever see. She was beaten having still run very well on both occasions.”

Cummings said he’s set her for two races this autumn, the Australian Cup and the Tancred, and so far Duais hasn’t let him down.

In fact the entire preparation has been a case of a mare under the radar stepping into the spotlight, signalling she’d be a force with an unlucky second-up sixth in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) prior to her Flemington win.

And it was the Chipping Norton run that gives him confidence a heavy track will be no issue.

“I think she would have bolted in, with a fair crack at them,’’ he said.

“I must admit I was surprised how well she handled the conditions that day. Credit to her, she’s developing more strength and confidence within herself from the spring preparation.

“She’s capable of taking up a position to a certain extent.

“That was evidenced in the Chipping Norton, even in the Apollo she was the best out that day and had we elected to roll forward I think she’d have been right on Think It Over’s hammer.

Duais adds their name the Australian Cup winners list! 🌟

Another Group 1 win for @JoshuaParr8 ✅ pic.twitter.com/6lvBknQAyN

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) March 12, 2022

“But we were in a mind frame we wanted to take care of her knowing we wanted her peaking third and fourth up.”

A Tancred win by Duais, $2.90 favourite with TAB on Thursday, would add Cummings’ name to an honour roll that includes his grandfather Bart, who won the race three times, father Anthony who trained Fiveandahalfstar to win in 2013 and brother James (Avilius in 2019).

Cummings said what happens on Saturday will likely dictate which race Duais is pointed at during The Star Championships. She’s nominated for the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and the Group 1 $2m Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m).

As it stands he’s probably leaning to the latter.

“You have to look at it, she’s got 51kg. It’s two miles in her back yard and it would be a great portent for the spring is she were able to cope with two miles,’’ he said.

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