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By Ray Hickson

If Harry’s Bar was a shade vulnerable first-up that’s not going to be the case when the reliable mare chases her second career win at Canterbury on Wednesday.

Trainer Paul Murray said the four-year-old will be a significantly fitter commodity going into the Vinnie Three Time Champion Sire Handicap (1200m) on the back of a third at Rosehill at the end of May.

On that occasion Harry’s Bar finished 1-3/4 lengths from Lady Extreme and Murray said the most promising part of the run was how she rallied when the pressure went on.

Trainer Paul Murray (Pic: Bradley Photos)

“I was very impressed with it, on a heavy track and she only had the one trial,’’ he said.

“I wanted to give her another one but we ran out of time. She’d had enough probably about the 250m but at the 100m you could see her really dig deep and have a crack.”

Murray said the run was tough on Harry’s Bar which is partly why he elected to give her a few extra days and not run in Midway company again last weekend.

“I was going to go Saturday but it was a similar sort of field as the other day and this one popped up without the three-year-olds,’’ he said.

“It gave me a few extra days, I could get a bit more work into her and she’s drawn ideally.”

Jean Van Overmeire rides Harry’s Bar, $5 with TAB on Tuesday, for the second time and Murray feels the race sets up well for her on paper.

She’s only won one race to date from eight starts, but has six top three finishes, and that was at Canterbury last August but the Kembla Grange trainer seems a little bullish that, on the way she's recovered and come on from the run, win number two isn’t far away.

“I think she will be very competitive again. I’m very impressed with her work, she’s going enormous, and whatever beats her will win,’’ he said.

“She always puts herself there, she’s got a lot of gate speed and can put herself in that position.

“She’s a very easy horse to ride, she knows when to go and when not to. She’s very adaptable that way.”

All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday’s Canterbury meeting