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By Ray Hickson

He's unbeaten in Australia and at the Randwick 2000m and with an imposing record overall Eliyass has won the admiration of co-trainer Adrian Bott as he looks to extend his winning run on Saturday.

Adrian Bott (Pic: Bradley Photos).

The French bred six-year-old has won eight of his 10 starts, and finished second in the other two, and currently holds top billing in TAB’s market on the Group 1 Metropolitan (2400m) in two weeks.

Bott, who co-trains with Gai Waterhouse, said on SEN that Eliyass reappearing in the Group 3 $250,000 James Squire Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) after a month’s gap has been in the plan and is expecting him to only keep improving.

“You’ve got to love and respect that sort of record,’’ Bott said.

“When the pressure’s on he’s really responded, he’s done what’s needed on every occasion for us.

“He keeps progressing, I feel he keeps improving, and he’s ready to take that next step.”

Eliyass, $3.70 with TAB on Thursday, won the Lord Mayors Cup on a heavy track back in June then with over two months between runs converted that to a win on a good 4 in the Premier’s Cup four weeks ago.

He showed his fitness with a trial win over 1200m under race jockey Tim Clark recently and Bott said he should be hard to beat again.

“He’s in great order, he comes off the back of a designed month between runs but he’s trialled well in between,’’ he said.

“He just keeps improving since he’s been in Australia.”

The gelding is one of three runners from Tulloch Lodge in the Kingston Town, a race the partnership won last year with Just Fine (who went on to win the Metropolitan) and Taikomochi in 2020 while Waterhouse won the race on five other occasions since 2000.

Last year’s Newcastle Cup winner Military Mission will be second-up in the race while Serpentine, who won the Randwick City Stakes at 2000m first-up last preparation, returns from a Brisbane winter campaign.

“I think Military Mission is going to improve second-up getting out to a more suitable trip,’’ Bott said.

“He got outsprinted there in the Chelmsford first-up and he may even just want a little bit further.

“He’s in good order, pleased with him, but he may need that extra run before we get him to the right conditions.

“I feel we’ve got Serpentine as good as he’s been before and we’re pleased with where he’s at for the campaign.”

Will Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot confirm herself a TAB Everest contender when she faces some adversity in the Group 2 $1 million Yarraman Park Shorts (1100m)?

Bott concedes the filly isn’t well placed with 55kg under the set weights and penalties conditions but said she’ll appreciate coming back to Sydney after a gallant third in the Group 1 Moir Stakes earlier this month.

“It was an excellent effort there at her first attempt at the Valley,’’ he said.

“I don’t think she appreciated that track but she improved nicely for the run, it sharpened her right up.

Eliyass wins at Randwick on August 24

“She’s probably not the best suited under the conditions of The Shorts in terms of the penalty. We want to try and secure a spot for the Everest and this is a good race where she can lay her credentials down.

“If she can be competitive or be winning a race like this under those conditions she’s only going to be better suited dropping to weight-for-age.”

Adrian Bott on Bear On The Loose (race 3): "I’d say he had a few excuses second-up and may have been feeling that tough first-up run. We gave him a nice little freshen up and he’s back in great order I feel. It looks a nice race for him and he looks very well placed. I feel you should be assessing him more on the line of his first-up performance.”

On Royal Patronage (race 8): “He was quite well in the conditions there first-up and the race worked out well for him with the pattern of it. He’s going to have to take that next step again stepping into weight-for-age company. He should appreciate getting out to a mile. He’s a horse with plenty of potential, the first-up run wasn’t a fluke and he’ll keep improving.”

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