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By Ray Hickson

It was worth a shot at the Queensland Derby with promising three-year-old Sonofdec but trainer Jay Hopkins is now preparing to refocus on the Grafton carnival if he bounces back at Randwick on Saturday.

The step from his impressive 1700m win at Scone the 2400m of the Group 1 run in testing conditions proved beyond the gelding but Hopkins he’ll be more in his comfort zone in the Petaluma Handicap (1600m).

Sonofdec spent a week in the paddock after his Derby tilt and Hopkins said he’s shown no signs of taking any harm from the tough run.

“Obviously we had to have a go but I’d say the drop from 2400m to a mile suits him,’’ Hopkins said.

“It wasn’t ideal but you don’t have a 20/1 chance in a Group 1 all the time, and to be fair he had no luck and it was a bog track too.

“We sat three and four deep and he made a long run, he was there at the top of the straight but it was too much.

Sonofdec wins at Scone on May 18

“Ash (Morgan) galloped him on Tuesday and said he felt as good as he did before Scone. He has come through fine and we’re happy enough with him.”

The Newcastle trainer, who has five horses in work, says a race like the $80,000 Grafton Guineas (1600m) on July 17 would be an appealing option for Sonofdec beyond Saturday.

“We think he’s pretty handy and his record shows that,’’ he said.

“It’s always nice to have a runner at Grafton over the carnival so if he runs well we might look at the Guineas.”

Hopkins dual accepted with Sonofdec, $6.50 with TAB on Thursday, for the Randwick meeting and said it could have gone either way as far as what race he ran in.

He has a slightly better draw than in the Midway but ultimately Hopkins said it won’t change the way he’s ridden, as his easy Scone win from well off the pace showed his late strengths.

“I thought they’re sort of his age group, there are some overseas horses that are unknown in that three and four-year-old race and there’s a few seasoned horses in the Midway which can be tricky,’’ he said.

“I’d say we probably sit midfield, a bit worse, ideally.

“I don’t want to be up there because he’s won so well coming from behind. Ash has a pretty good record on the horse so we’ll leave it up to him.”

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