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By Ray Hickson

The Doncaster Mile is a race trainer Sterling Alexiou grew up wanting to win and he’ll be half way there if either Ellsberg or Steely can take out Saturday’s Group 2 $750,000 The Agency Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

Sterling Alexiou and Gerald Ryan

Alexiou, who co-trains the duo with Gerald Ryan, describes the $3 million Doncaster Mile as a special race and while it is a step up from the Villiers he feels both Ellsberg and Steely are up and comers who, if they win the exemption, have the scope to rise further in grade.

“It’d be great for either horse to get into the Doncaster but an off season Villiers is a long way from a Doncaster,’’ he said.

“They are both young horses we haven’t reached the bottom of so it’s hard to put a ceiling on where they may end up.”

The Ryan-Alexiou pair were sharing TAB favouritism at $4.60 on Friday morning and Alexiou said it’s a fair reflection of their chances given he can make solid cases for both.

Four-year-old Ellsberg won the traditional Villiers lead up, the Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m), two weeks ago in convincing style while the year older Steely has worked his way through the grades and basically secured a spot when he won second-up at Kembla Grange last month.

They’ve both drawn barriers to suit their racing styles and both don’t mind a wet track.

“The barrier draw didn’t change too much for either of them, they should get good runs and are both in as good form as we can have them in,’’ Alexiou said.

“It’s hard to pot either horse going into Saturday. Both are adept in the conditions, are in good form and are going to get good runs. It comes down to a bit of luck and how the jockeys ride them.”

Alexiou said Ellsberg, to be ridden by Tim Clark, is probably the more brilliant of the two horses but being more lightly raced is still working thigs out whereas Steely has more race sense.

“He’ll put himself right on the speed I would imagine,’’ he said.

“I don’t think the mile is a worry, even on a wet track, I wouldn’t be surprised in time if he got further than a mile.

“He sat outside the leader with a light weight the other day and put them away in good fashion.

“If something doesn’t want to take it up and he can find the fence he’s probably better again, he’s a better horse when he has the fence to follow.”

The Festival win cost Ellsberg 3kg as he rises to 56kg for the Villiers while Steely drops 7kg to 53kg following his Benchmark 88 win at Kembla where he sat on the speed and toughed it out.

It was a win Ryan and Alexiou were keen for Steely to achieve as they started the preparation with the Villiers as the target but with a benchmark that meant he was borderline to gain a start.

Ellsberg wins the Festival Stakes at Rosehill on November 27

“We were aware he was going to have to win a Saturday race on the way to get a run in the Villiers,’’ said.

“He’s a horse that gets better into his preparation and he was nowhere near peak fitness at Kembla.

“He probably wasn’t ready to put himself on the speed like that in a race. He tends to just do his job and travel wherever he’s asked to.”

Kerrin McEvoy, who is yet to win a Villiers, rides Steely.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Villiers Stakes meeting at Randwick