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By Ray Hickson

The last time Purple Sector took his place in the The Gong at Kembla Grange it was with some degree of fanfare but he’ll have his second attempt at the $1 million feature on Saturday as something of the forgotten horse.

Trainer John Thompson.

Back in 2020 the John Thompson-trained galloper started a $6 second favourite on the back of impressive wins at Randwick and Flemington and finished three lengths from the winner in seventh.

He’s sitting on a more than two year run away from the winner’s stall but Thompson said with three seconds from his last four starts the seven-year-old goes into The Gong (1600m) in super form.

“Take out the Melbourne (two starts ago) run, which was ordinary, and his three Sydney runs have been good,’’ Thompson said.

“He’s consistent without winning, he keeps ticking over. I don’t think he’s been going better for a while now than what he is at the moment.”

Purple Sector meets Gong favourite Old Flame on 5.5kg better terms for a narrow defeat when they clashed at Rosehill in late August. Thompson’s charge was $12 with TAB on Thursday which was double Old Flame’s price.

He was runner-up to subsequent Epsom Handicap winner Top Ranked in the Group 3 Bill Ritchie second-up and gave Diamil 2.5kg when just failing over a mile at Randwick a month ago.

Thompson said a freshen up since his last run, where he did think for a moment Purple Sector was home, has the gelding in great shape and hopes to take advantage of the inside gate.

“He went out for a week to 10 days after his last run and we gave him a trial to get his fitness back up,’’ he said.

“He goes well that way, spaced runs and a bit fresh. If you run him every two weeks he goes off a bit.

“He’s racing consistently but he’s found one better a few times, he’s definitely better on top of the ground and he’ll make his own luck and will be there for a long way.”

The barrier gods continue to plague Excelladus who will jump from near the outside in the Count De Rupee Midway Handicap (1400m).

Thompson said he was pleased with the four-year-old’s eighth in the Four Pillars (1500m) at Rosehill after being forced to cover ground off another wide gate and has the fingers crossed for a kinder passage.

“He just had a tough run and after a tough run first-up it took its toll,’’ he said.

“He’s just going to need luck from out there. It’s the right race and the main thing is he’s going well.

“We’ll have a look at the map and try to work out what’s going to happen inside us and what the plan’s going to be. We’ve given him a bit of time between runs and he should bounce back.”

Purple Sector runs second at Randwick on October 22

Embeller shook off a disappointing first-up effort to dash into third behind Plymstock at Rosehill three weeks ago and that augers well for the PFD Food Services Handicap (1200m).

The mare stays in the same grade third-up and Thompson said it looks like on paper she will have a race favourably run, unlike last time.

“She ran well the other day, probably just needed a bit more speed in the race,’’ he said.

“She hit the line nicely and wasn’t beaten far. I’d imagine with the bigger field there should be a bit more genuine tempo in it which will suit her.”

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