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By Ray Hickson

If the maiden is the hardest race for a horse to win, the second hardest has to be the very next start and that’s the challenge facing the lightly raced Detendu at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer David Pfieffer (Pic: Steve Hart)

Against that, trainer David Pfieffer liked what he saw in the three-year-old’s runaway breakthrough win late last month at his fifth race start and said he’s worthy of stepping up in the ASX Maurice Farhart Handicap (1100m).

Detendu, $4.60 with TAB on Thursday, was runner-up in his three starts in his first preparation but Pfieffer said he showed the benefit of that first prep in how he went about putting his rivals away at Warwick Farm where he was strongly supported.

“He’s taken a while to furnish and learn his trade,’’ he said.

“Last prep he was there to win a few races but didn’t, this preparation he seems to have come back a lot sharper and more switched on.

“If you win your maiden in town and try to push on from there it’s a tough ask.

“Last start I thought he won with a bit of authority. He did a good job and it earned him an opportunity to have a crack at something like this.”

The gelding drops 2.5kg on his maiden win and Pfieffer said that will give him a chance to be competitive with in-form horses like top weight In Flight who has won three of her four starts this time around.

Any improvement in the Randwick track would be in his favour and the Warwick Farm trainer sees more pluses than minuses about giving Detendu his biggest test.

“I’d be going there with an open mind. The horse is in form, in good order,’’ he said.

“I don’t think he loves a wet track but he gets through it and he’s going to hold his own. He’s third-up now which is ideal and he’s drawn a gate which is going to give him every chance.

“In Flight is in outstanding order and is going to be hard to beat but she’s also got 60kg and we’ve got a 3.5kg pull on her.

“You really want to capitalise on your three-year-old season when you have a BOBS horse, to try and pick up a few bonus cheques before August comes up.”

It’s been 11 months since Soami last raced and it’s noticeable the gelding’s form was all on good tracks, something he certainly won’t strike in the Schweizer Kobras Lawyers Handicap (1000m).

Soami won two Midways in July last year and Pfieffer said he’ll naturally be a bit short on match practice despite having two trials under his belt.

Detendu wins at Warwick Farm on June 26

“I don’t think he’s a mudlark, he’s a So You Think that loves the sting out of the ground but not a lot of it,’’ he said.

“He hasn’t raced for 12 months, it’s 1000m, the writing’s on the wall that he’ll need the run and he’ll be better for it in two weeks’ time over 1300m.”

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