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By Ray Hickson

A fairytale comeback win isn’t in trainer Kerry Parker’s expectations when Think It Over makes his long awaited return at Randwick on Saturday but he’d like to see confirmation that he’ll be a spring carnival player.

Trainer Kerry Parker (Pic: Bradley Photos).

The eight-year-old hasn’t raced since his famous victory in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2022 due to a tendon injury that Parker said could easily have ended his career.

But it hasn’t and after a long, slow, build up he’s confident he’ll see what he needs to when Think It Over tackles the Group 1 $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m).

“You can go in wishing you can return a winner but you’ve got to be realistic,’’ Parker said.

“And realistic is he races well, shows he is enjoying it and pulls up sound.

“We’ve brought him along nice and steady. We were never in a hurry. I always aimed at this spring rather than rushing him back for anything else so I wasn’t under pressure.”

He’s already amassed over $7 million in prizemoney from 35 starts, including two Group 1 wins, so you could say there was little to prove.

Once Think It Over’s injury was stabilised Parker brought him into his stables a couple of times, where the gelding wouldn’t go faster than a light canter, and he's spent a good amount of time on the water walker at Limitless Lodge.

“It’s been a long slow process but it’s what needed to happen. We’ve done everything we can do and now it’s up to him,’’ he said.

“There was always doubt when it first happened but it was a matter of doing everything we could for him. If he didn’t come back, well he went out on top anyway.”

The comeback went up a notch in the past few months and he’s put on show in his public appearances in the lead up to the Winx that he’s far from a spent force.

Parker was rapt with Think It Over's latest trial, where he was narrowly beaten by Mo’unga over 1000m at Warwick Farm on August 4, and said it showed he has some sharpness in his legs.

“I’m happy with him going into Saturday. He’s had a perfect lead up and now it’s a matter of going to the races,’’ he said.

“His first trial was nice and soft, we were able to increase his work at home after that and have a gallop between races at Kembla.

“It was always the plan to give him a nice hitout in that last trial and open his lungs a bit. I wanted to make sure he went out and had a bit of a blow against some quality animals. At this stage he’s ticked the boxes.”

As cautious as Parker is about Think It Over’s chances, he does recognise the gelding has a strong first-up record – he was beaten half a length in the Winx of 2021 and romped away with the Apollo Stakes, both over 1400m at Randwick, at the start of his autumn 2022 campaign.

That doesn’t raise expectations because you can’t ignore the 16 month absence but he’s respected in the market as a $10 chance with TAB on Wednesday.

“You want to see him race well, race competitive, and come home 100 per cent,’’ Parker said.

“That’s our main aim. You want him to show he wants to be there and is still enjoying his racing.

“We’ll learn every time he goes around. Whether he’s going to be a bit ring rusty being off the scene for a while, he might be, but every indication is he will turn up and race well.”

Think It Over runs second in a Warwick Farm trial on August 4

Stablemate Don Luigi will be out to turn around his form in the Midway Handicap (1200m) after a second-up run Parker would rather ignore.

He kicked off the prep with a game win at Moruya but was never a factor when beating one home behind Hard To Say at Rosehill two weeks ago.

“He got back out of his ground, it was an on pace sort of race so I’m prepared to forget that run,’’ he said.

“He didn’t shirk his task, he held his own. It was unlike him to be back there in no man’s land and not run into it but nothing else did either.”

Meanwhile, Parker’s Group 1 placed mare Hope In Your Heart is set to resume in the Tramway Stakes after completing her second trial at Warwick Farm on Friday.

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