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By Ray Hickson

A pattern used often by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott when they target a feature Randwick mile has the Tulloch Lodge team confident Surf Dancer will have his chance in Tuesday’s $2 million Big Dance (1600m).

Trainer Adrian Bott (Pic: Bradley Photos)

It’s the old race beyond a mile to toughen them up then bring them back in trip scenario that Bott hopes will serve the gelding well in a race he’s expecting to be something of a stamina test.

Surf Dancer booked his spot in the inaugural Big Dance with an easy all the way win in the South Grafton Cup (1600m) back in July but has gone up a notch with his Shannon Stakes win this spring.

He failed in the Craven Plate (1800m), won by Cascadian, second-up but Bott said there were excuses and even though he has 61kg he is well placed.

“South Grafton looked a nice target for him in that campaign and he won it well, that qualified him and he’s measured up from there,’’ Bott said.

“He probably paid the penalty for (the Shannon) jumping up a few ratings points but he’s a Group 2 winner and he won that well.

“Second-up at 1800m weight-for-age was a bit of an ask for him particularly the way the race was run. But he had a similar pattern last prep, he got out in trip then back to a mile and was effective so we’re hoping he can do that again.”

The gelding won the South Grafton Cup having started at 1800m and 2000m prior to that race.

Bott said Surf Dancer, $6 with TAB on Monday, couldn’t have drawn better in gate five and that will give jockey Regan Bayliss options depending on the speed of the race.

“He’s versatile and has a sharp turn of foot as well,’’ he said.

“We’ll see how it pans out, we’ll have a close look at the speed but we’re happy with what we’ve got.

“These big field handicap races are always strong. He’s been performing well and consistently so we’re really happy with him.”

It hasn’t exactly been a perfect build up for Muswellbrook Cup winner Regal Stage into the Big Dance but Bott saw plenty of merit in his first-up run.

Regal Stage contested a string of Country Cups following his Muswellbrook win on April 1 so needed to have a break and while he’s had just the one run back at 1200m he will appreciate returning to a mile and dropping to 52kg.

“He’s had a long lead in to it and we’ve had to work out the best way to prepare him for it,” he said.

“He ran well first-up, he had a big weight there and it was 1200m and he was back.

“It was short of his best but he ground the line nicely and that will bring him on for the mile which is his trip.”

Surf Dancer wins the Shannon Stakes at Rosehill

Meanwhile, promising three-year-old Saturn Star is back at the races in The Agency Real Estate Handicap (1300m) after a barrier incident saw him scratched from his engagement at Warwick Farm a couple of weeks ago.

The gelding led all the way at his debut at Rosehill a month ago and showed he’d put the mishap at the Farm behind him holding off Lost And Running and Buenos Noches to win a barrier trial a few days later.

“It was an incident where he got his leg up so he had to be scratched,’’ Bott said.

“It meant we had to rejig his program and got him back to the trials so he didn’t miss the run. It would have been a while between runs so we sent him around and he ticked over nicely.”

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