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By Ray Hickson

Festival Dancer’s form slump through the autumn of 2022 is a mystery to trainer Matthew Smith but after an encouraging last start second he’s hoping the mare can continue a resurgence at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Matthew Smith (Pic: Steve Hart)

In a six week period during the spring of 2021, Festival Dancer progressed from a maiden win at Goulburn to a Group 3 win in the Spring Stakes (1600m) at Newcastle and a gallant third in the Group 2 Sandown Guineas.

Smith said perhaps he aimed too high in the autumn, either distance or class wise, but when you’re a three-year-old there are opportunities you only get once.

“She just didn’t come up at all last prep, I don’t know why, she was working well but wasn’t racing well,’’ he said.

“They don’t lose the ability. We might have stuffed up that preparation, we were stretching her out in distance too which may have been a negative.

“You probably tend to give it a shot and if it doesn’t work you go back to Plan B.”

To be fair to Festival Dancer, her first-up effort in the spring just past saw her hit the line late in an on pace dominated race at Newcastle won by Coal Crusher.

She went back in her second run and didn’t make an impact in a 1400m event at Rosehill on November 26 but Smith said her second behind Our Modena at Randwick three weeks ago was a sign of the Festival Dancer of 2021.

So he’d like to see her back it up in the TAB Handicap (1500m), where she was $6.50 with TAB on Thursday.

“She’d had a good break and she needed a couple of runs. Her last run was excellent and it gives us a bit of an indication she’s back to her best,’’ he said.

“I was really pleased with the run at Randwick, she was positive and she stuck on strong.

“That’s her best pattern, you’ve got to get them rock hard fit before you can ride them that way.

“If you do it early in a prep and they don’t handle it then it can set your preparation back to square one. Now she’s fit she’ll go back to her normal pattern and be on pace.

“Hopefully she puts a couple together and away we go.”

While expectations are somewhat high for the mare, Smith said stayer First In Line is still to reach his comfort zone and isn’t predicting an upset in the Listed $160,000 Schweppes January Cup (2000m).

The import has had two runs at a mile this time around and while he’s been beaten around five lengths in both the trainer saw some merit given he’s being outsprinted at that distance.

“To be fair to him his runs this time have been okay. He finished off the other day a little bit,’’ he said.

“He’s a real grinding stayer, he’s a mile and a half on pace horse I think.

“He won’t be in the mix this race but hopefully in a couple of runs time when he’s rock hard fit. He’ll definitely need the run and then next time over 2000m back in grade it will be more suitable.”

Festival Dancer runs second at Randwick on December 17

Meanwhile, the immediate future of Smith’s Group 1 winning mare Nimalee will be known shortly as she remains in the paddock recovering from a tendon issue.

The six-year-old won the Group 2 Golden Pendant in September and was placed in The Invitation in the spring and Smith said it’s not clear what happened to Nimalee she was discovered to have some swelling in a tendon.

She’s undergoing scans this week and Smith said if all is well she’ll return to work for the autumn.

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