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By Graeme White

This time last year, Phobetor ($4.40 favourite on TAB) was starting the long process of recovering from a tendon injury and is now on the cusp of completing his comeback in the $200,000 Grafton District Services Club Ramornie Handicap (1200m).

The dreams of Phobetor’s connections and trainer Michael Costa were shattered when Phobetor suffered the major setback after winning five of his nine starts.

Costa said it had been his hope to have Phobetor back and ready to fire in the time-honored race after the galloper spent several months recovering.

Phobetor in action with Brad Stewart aboard

“This has been his target from the time he came back into work,” Costa said.

“He needed a long spell and had a good eight months off before he came back into work.

“He had two trials in May, then won first-up at Doomben. He was still gross in condition that day and will have improved with the run.”

Costa spent time in the Grafton region as a Racing NSW Steward officiating at the cup carnival in about 2010 before he turned to training.

Now with a large team of horses in training at the Gold Coast, Costa can’t wait to be part of the carnival from a different angle.

The 33-year-old will also have prelude winner Purrfect Deal ($3.90 fav) racing in Thursday’s Grafton Cup. He has elected scratch his other Ramornie Handicap contender, Axe (was at $7), after he drew the outside barrier.

Phobetor has drawn in the centre of the field in gate 10 with Jag Guthmann-Chester to retain the ride after a narrow win at Doomben on June 16.

Class will carry a galloper so far and Phobetor has that, but hard race fitness is against him after such a long time off with only one race start to his name in 12 months.

“The Ramornie has always been a race I have wanted to win. He will make his presence felt, but it is a step up in grade,” he said.

“I had a runner in the Ramornie (Manaya) two years ago which drew wide and finished unplaced so it’s important you have good draw because it’s a tough race to win.”

Phobetor is rated as one of the favourites ahead of Garibaldi ($6), Southern Lad ($8.50) and Fender ($9.50). Southern Lad ran fifth in the Ramornie last year and at his latest start was second behind Superium at Eagle Farm.

Brilliant mare Away Game finished third in the same race and subsequently won her next start last Saturday. Southern Lad has contested a number of feature races and hasn’t been able to win one, but has always been close-up.

Topweight Usmanov ($18) ran fifth behind Away Game in the Group 3 W J Healy Stakes and prior to that won the Lightning Handicap at Eagle Farm.

Meanwhile, Costa believes an even better Purrfect Deal can make her presence felt against a stronger line-up in the Grafton Cup. The mare also has an impressive winning strike-rate of six wins from 10 starts and proved in her prelude win under 62kg how talented she is.

This time Purrfect Deal drops 8kg to 54kg but rises in class. Like, Phobetor, Purrfect Deal has the same credentials – lightly raced with a better than 50% winning strike rate.

“She will definitely improve as she missed some work leading up to the prelude due to a hoof abscess,” Costa said. “She is only a tiny mare at 445 kilograms so to win the way she did last start with the big weight was very impressive,” he said.

“The big weight drop is a bonus, but she also goes up in grade. I couldn’t be happier with how she has done since and it helps she has won at the track and distance.”

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Grafton here