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By Ray Hickson

The last time Ron Quinton felt he’d found the right race for consistent galloper Media Starguest the gelding duly saluted and he has the same sense about Saturday’s $100,000 Midway Handicap (1600m) at Randwick.

After three runs back from a spell, including one the trainer wouldn’t mind taking back, Quinton said the four-year-old is as perfectly placed as he was when he scored at Canterbury back in May.

He has a nice class drop on his last start second on a heavy track at Rosehill, he’s drawn favourably and he gets into a Midway race with just 56.5kg after the claim for Reece Jones.

“I’m not particularly worried about him coming back from 1800m to 1600m,’’ Quinton said.

“The horse has done really well and it looks a nice race for him. To offset the weight there’s the 3kg and you probably couldn’t get a 3kg boy.

“He has form on wet tracks so he can handle the ground.”

Media Starguest, $4 with TAB on Thursday, signalled a win wasn’t far away when he resumed with an eye-catching third in a Randwick Midway in October.

It’s the second-up run, a closing eighth in a Benchmark 78 behind Zoushack, that Quinton slightly regrets though he said it was a pleasing effort in a race he couldn’t win under the circumstances.

Media Starguest runs second at Rosehill on November 27

He then jumped to 1800m and chased home the in-form Lord Ardmore two weeks ago.

“I probably made one little mistake with him,’’ he said.

“He drew the outside alley at Rosehill (November 6) and they predicted rain, I thought if it rains I’d run him but it didn’t come. Outside that I’m happy enough with him.

“I thought he’d run very well last start but the winner was just too good for him. He was ridden well but the winner was too good on the day.”

Quinton is one of the foremost authorities on apprentices, having guided the likes of Hugh Bowman, Andrew Adkins and Sam Clipperton into the senior ranks, and he feels we could have a vintage crop emerging.

Of course he’s booked Reece Jones to ride Media Starguest. Jones is transitioning to the city ranks and it’s easy to forget he rode four winners at Randwick in June.

There’s Tyler Schiller, who is following the Mark Newnham path that has proven golden with Robbie Dolan and Tom Sherry, and later in the season Dylan Gibbons is expected to hit the city.

“When they get on a roll with the claim everyone is scrambling to get them for their horses, they can ride numerous winners quickly,’’ Quinton said.

“Dylan has only had two rides for me, he’s won and run second, he’s a real talent and has been handled really well by Kris.

“I picked him up pretty quickly and Tyler is getting better every day.

“It’s very tough competition and we have some great riders in that jockeys room. We’re blessed to have them.”

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