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By Ray Hickson

As much as jockey Nash Rawiller can be confident he’s on the best horse in Tuesday’s $3 million Big Dance (1600m) he’s wary that Cepheus could be vulnerable under the 62kg impost.

Jockey Nash Rawiller (Pic: Steve Hart)

It’s not that he hasn’t earned it, or carried it to victory before, but Rawiller said when you’re asked to carry such a weight, and concede up to 10kg to others, there doesn’t leave a lot of margin for error.

It's worth noting, also, Cepheus is yet to win on anything other than a good track but the majority of those runs were overseas and Randwick is expected to start Big Dance day a soft 5.

That aside, Rawiller said he couldn’t be happier with how the Matthew Dunn-trained seven-year-old sets up for his grand final.

“Matty and I were speaking about this race for the horse last preparation, so there’s been a lot of thought and planning go into it,’’ Rawiller said.

“It’s just the weight, that’s the only thing that can go against us.

“He’s in great order, his trial was nice and he’s shown in previous runs he carries weight well. It’s not too daunting, you just need everything to fall into place.”

Rawiller, eyeing successive Big Dance wins after partnering Rustic Steel in the inaugural edition in 2022, has formed a strong partnership with Dunn particularly when it comes to the TAB Highways.

He’s had four rides on his Big Dance mount for three wins and a third.

Cepheus, $5 with TAB on Monday, has already pocketed just over $1m for his connections this spring with his wins in the Group 2 Shannon Stakes (1500m) and $1.5m Alan Brown Stakes (1400m).

He hasn’t raced for a month, due to a small setback, but showed he was on target chasing the speedy Cannonball home in a trial.

What’s been a factor in his two lead up wins, since qualifying with a South Grafton Cup victory under 62kg, is drawing an inside gate and he’s come up with pole position for the Big Dance.

“It’s probably been the difference between winning and losing a couple of times,’’ Rawiller said.

“Cotehele ran up to beat him last time and he was able to find a way to win. He just seems to have that extra gear that gets the job done.

“He should just make his own luck again and when the run comes he’s got a turn of foot to take it which helps, and to get yourself out of trouble.”

Dunn said the setback which saw him scratched from the Filante Handicap, where he would have carried 61kg, just over two weeks ago is insignificant and added he may well have taken the horse out of the race anyway.

“We did all the scans and x-rays we could to make sure he is right and he is, he’s one hundred per cent,’’ he said.

“He has trialled since that and his work Tuesday morning was as good as I’ve ever seen him work in his life.

“He is bouncing, he’s really happy. He is going into this race probably as good as I’ve ever had him for any race.”

Cepheus was off the scene for the best part of 18 months with a tendon injury before returning in early 2023 and since then he’s been a model of consistency.

Capheus wins the Alan Brown Stakes

His only failure was on a heavy track in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile and Dunn said even though he’d won up to 2500m overseas he’s really found his place with the horse in races around the mile.

“When we qualified him, I backed him up within seven days and I generally don’t do that much particularly with a horse that has had an injury in the past,’’ he said.

“We took a risk doing that to qualify him to win the South Grafton Cup and that’s where the dream started, he has done remarkably well since and has raced far beyond what we thought his capabilities were.

“He is one of those horses, he just keeps stepping up.”

All the entries, form and replays for Tuesday's Randwick meeting