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By Ray Hickson

The recent winning performances by once enigmatic stablemates Papal Warrior and Oscar Zulu are examples of horses that have become “fully grown men” with the benfit of some time.

Jockey Kerrin McEvoy (Pic: Bradley Photos).

That’s the view of jockey Kerrin McEvoy who pairs up with both Chris Waller-trained gallopers again at Randwick on Saturday as they look to stretch their sequences to three and four wins respectively.

McEvoy said Papal Warrior and Oscar Zulu are racing like horses that really want to win at the moment and attributes a lot of that to placement and maturity.

“Without knowing these horses all that well earlier in their career it could be a case of both horses, especially Papal Warrior, growing into themselves and fully furnishing,’’ he said.

“Winter time is a great time of year for these horses, back in grade a little bit and getting cut in the ground which probably suits and they are showing their best.”

Papal Warrior and McEvoy attempt the hat-trick in the Elite Sand & Soil Handicap (1600m), having improved his record to three wins from 20 starts, after a slashing victory at Rosehill two weeks ago.

The four-year-old, $3.80 with TAB on Thursday, returns to Benchmark 78 grade, he beat Tycoonist at that level previously, and carries the same weight as he did last start so McEvoy can only expect him to hold his form.

“He was quite strong and dominant. He gave me a nice feel, he doesn’t give me a feel of a horse that is not genuine,’’ he said.

“He’s found a sweet spot and he’s reaping the benefits. I’m sure that Chris has just ticked him over and a mile wouldn’t be problem on Saturday.”

Three-year-old Oscar Zulu is clearly on top of the BOBS Bonus leaderboard having earned $90,000 in bonuses so far this season and will be out to extend that lead in the Bowermans Office Furniture Handicap (1400m).

Oscar Zulu, $3.90 with TAB on Thursday, faces a 3kg weight rise on his near two length win over Canasta at Rosehill on July 3 where he tracked the solid tempo set by the leaders and put them away quickly.

“It worked out lovely. He was able to sit there behind that good tempo and withstand that pressure then show a nice kick,’’ McEvoy said.

“He’s shown he’s in a rich vein of form for sure and he’s shown he can handle pressure in races and can sit close.

“He’s drawn a nice alley and he’s a little bit versatile, I think that helps when you’re looking to offset a big weight.”

It's not just the Waller stablemates that McEvoy has struck up winning partnerships with, he'll also reunite with Bjorn Baker's last start winners O'Mudgee and Van Giz in their respective races.

Papal Warrior wins at Rosehill on July 3

Among his other rides McEvoy is expecting the Richard Litt-trained Catapult to be competitive in the Midway Handicap (1200m) on the back of a pleasing first-up run in the inaugural Midway two weeks ago.

He clocked the second fastest last 600m of the race (34.33, Punter’s Intelligence) in running fourth behind Our Bellagio Miss when beaten just under two lengths.

“He broke on terms and wasn’t able to muster to make use of the inside draw,’’ McEvoy said.

“He was in a different ball park when the race started to develop. He was only getting mobile without a lot of room late so he will appreciate getting to Randwick and 1200m.”

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