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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Ciaron Maher has some decisions to make about how to get lightly raced colt Ripley to his January target and whether the Macquarie St Social Handicap (1300m) at Randwick on Saturday forms part of it.

Johann Gerard-Dubord (Pic: Bradley Photos)

The colt, a Rosehill maiden winner in October before proving competitive in two runs at Listed level in Victoria, is being aimed at the Magic Millions Guineas and Maher’s assistant Johann Gerard-Dubord said there are plenty of paths he can use to get there.

“We’ll keep an eye on the track, we wouldn’t want it to be too firm and there’s a Gosford Guineas next week,’’ he said.

There’s also the Vo Rogue Plate in Brisbane as another option for Maher to get Ripley to the Gold Coast though Gerard-Dubord said Saturday’s race does have its appeal.

Ripley, $3.40 with TAB on Friday, has 60kg in the Benchmark 72 and hasn’t raced since running third behind Burma Star over 1400m at Flemington in early November.

He bridged the gap between runs with a trial at Warwick Farm early last week.

“We’ve always had plenty of time for him,’’ Gerard-Dubord said.

“He’s a well bred colt, won his maiden well and went into stakes company after that and ran well.

“He’s drawn well, the horse is well. He does have a big weight but has a good gate and would put himself there not too far away.

“The 1300m on a big track will suit him so there are positives.”

A state switch sees Sunshineinmypocket make his Sydney debut in the Toyota Forklifts Handicap (1400m) on the back of a run at Ballarat the stable is happy to forgive.

Gerard-Dubord said there are a couple of races that look to suit the five-year-old in Sydney in the coming weeks and with 52kg on a good track he’s capable of bouncing back to form.

“He was disappointing last start, they put it town to the track conditions but leading into that they were very confident,’’ he said.

“Before that he was racing very well. Back to his best form he’s definitely a good chance with no weight and a good gate there.

“He’s a lightly raced horse with a good record. If you forget his last run it’s a nice race for him.”

The lightly raced four-year-old Covert Thinking is expected to stretch out beyond the trip of the Brave Smash @ Yarraman Park Handicap (1600m) this preparation and Gerard-Dubord said she set up her campaign nicely.

That was with a first-up third behind Hyperbolic three weeks ago.

He said she’s a horse that doesn’t give away a lot at home so the fresh performance was particularly encouraging given it was the hardest race she’s contested to date.

“Early on we thought we’d be happy if we won a race with her but she just kept improving,’’ he said.

“She doesn’t show you a lot at trackwork but on race day she’s a different horse. She did it on wet tracks last prep and enjoyed those conditions.

“We thought it’d be a bit harder for her this time and she surprised us first-up, we didn’t expect her to run that well in Saturday grade over 1400m.

“Even though she’s never been past a mile she will stay a lot further.

“We started the prep thinking we wouldn’t see the best of her until we get her up in trip so it was very pleasing to see her return like she did. Other than the gate I don’t think we could be much happier.”

Ripley runs second in a Warwick Farm trial on December 8

Johann Gerard-Dubord on Dealt (race 5): “She’s another we will step up in trip this time. She’s matured and is a bit more relaxed in everything she does. She doesn’t have a turn of foot, in most of her races she hits a flat spot and gets going late. Even though she finished at the back the last part of the race was very good.”

On Vienna Vixen (race 9): “We scratched last week from a wide gate. Her first-up run was actually very good, stepping up to 1400m will suit her. We’re putting the blinkers back on, she’s a big price but she can definitely run well.”

On Amplify (race 9): “She got better once we started stepping her up in trip. She ran very well in a Listed race in Queensland on a testing track and her run in the Oaks was very good. She will need to get started, 1400m will be a bit sharp for her.”

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