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By Ray Hickson

One of Rod Northam’s duo in Saturday’s TAB Highway (1500m) at Rosehill tends to want to make life hard for himself, the other doesn’t help herself at the start so you can forgive the trainer for having his fingers crossed when it comes to their chances.

Smart Buy is in line for a hat-trick, after two home track wins, in a race Northam thought would be ideal for her until she drew the outside barrier.

Unbeaten four-year-old Fan Harder has managed to win both starts, a year apart, and Northam is still trying to get a penchant for waiting out of him.

Despite these challenges, he says both horses will ultimately prove to be well up to Highway class.

“In his first win he dropped the bit and had to chase hard to get the job done,’’ he said of Fan Harder.

“In the second win he over raced a little bit in the early stages and when he got to the front he stopped.

“Anna (Roper) thought he was going to win by two then he got there and stopped, waiting for them. So he still does a few things wrong but he’s definitely got the ability.”

Fan Harder wins at Tamworth on September 8

Northam said he’s sure the quick jump in distance from the 1200m at Tamworth three weeks ago won’t be an issue as he’s had plenty of time to step up the gelding’s work.

Fan Harder, $6.50 with TAB on Friday, drops 5.5kg after Anna Roper’s claim.

“I’m confident he’s fit enough and I’m sure he’s got enough ability to be competitive,’’ he said.

“It will probably be greenness that might bring him undone more than anything else.

“It’d be nice if he could lob just off the speed and not hit the front too soon. That’d be the plan and we’ll see how it works out.”

The Scone trainer said Smart Buy has more or less been aimed at this race since her fighting win at home back on September 2 so the outside barrier is a bit of a blow.

She was the last out of the stalls before scoring that win and Northam feels there’s no point bustling her from out wide if she does that again.

“We probably have to suck it up and go back I think, hope to get a run through somewhere and ride for a bit of luck,’’ he said.

“It was more of a target for her, she’s just going really well and the 1500m should be perfect for her. She’s probably looking for a mile.

“A month between runs doesn’t worry her, she’s a lightly framed mare who doesn’t carry a lot of condition.

“She’s still six months off, she’s got a lot of furnishing to do. I think she’s going to keep on improving as she keeps maturing.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Golden Rose meeting at Rosehill