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By Ray Hickson

Rosehill has been a happy hunting ground for jockey Andrew Adkins over the past month and there’s a sense of déjà vu about heading there again to partner the likes of Touristic and King's Secret among his nine rides on Saturday.

Jockey Andrew Adkins (Pic: Bradley Photos).

The duo were successful a month ago but were then both beaten two weeks later, while Adkins rode another double on two different horses, and he said he can make a case for them to get back to their best.

Touristic won the Lord Mayors Cup on May 31 and comes back to that track and distance in the Listed $200,000 Toyota Forklifts WJ McKell Cup (2000m).

The Peter Snowden-trained gelding was right in the market, on the back of his easy Lord Mayors Cup win, when finishing midfield in the Winter Cup over 2400m and Adkins feels there were excuses for his defeat.

“From a soft gate he is a horse that can over race and going up in trip I was mindful not to give him too much of a message early,’’ Adkins said.

“I thought I was in striking range going past the post the first time but within another 100m or so the rest of the field came across and put us not in a great position with the speed lacking from there on in.

“He made up good ground and it was a good effort, albeit he didn’t win.

"Things didn’t go right for him so off the back of that I thought he raced really well.”

Adkins said it’s in the back of his mind that Touristic, $7.50 with TAB on Wednesday, could well be a horse that just doesn’t quite get a strong 2400m, even though he did run second in the Grafton Cup at 2350m last year.

So he's more than happy to look to his previous win as a more reliable guide to the six-year-old's chances.

“I think 2000m is better for him, you can ride a bit more of an open book race,’’ he said.

“You’re probably not going to get as slow a speed and I can put him into the race and not be too concerned he’s going to overdo it.

“He worked really well on Tuesday morning and he’s in a race where he can win again.”

It might be worth keeping an eye on King’s Secret as he’s milling around behind the gates ahead of the TAB Handicap (1100m) as Adkins feels that may have been where his race was run last start.

The Joe Pride-trained gelding, a half-brother to Private Eye, was the first leg of Adkins’ double at the May 31 meeting when a brilliant winner but he wasn’t the same horse running fifth behind Winning Proposal come June 14.

“He wasn’t disgraced but I didn’t feel it was his best effort,’’ he said.

“He got a little bit wound up pre race and that’s all I can put it down to.

Touristic wins the Lord Mayors Cup on May 31

"He’s a naturally on his toe horse in the yard but it was behind the barriers where he got a bit stirred up.

“I can’t see why he couldn’t (win) again. He’s got a bit of a sticky gate but he’s a go forward horse who can make his own luck.”

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