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From flashy two-year-olds in the Group features to imports ready to rumble, Gai and Adrian are ready to fire tomorrow at Royal Randwick.

Emma Reeves aids us with programming and identifies who she thinks is the best placed horse each weekend.  Bear On The Loose, Saturday 28th February, Royal Randwick, Race 3: There was just 70 cents between this mightily consistent gelding and last year’s Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winner, Half Yours, two starts ago at Caloundra. While it was clear he ran very well, I was disappointed he didn’t win at the time, but in hindsight he did an exceptional job. He has had one run since and was terrific in a stronger race than this over a trip well short of his best. He does carry top weight, but he’s a big, strong horse and Adam Hyeronimus is a heavyweight rider, so he carries very little deadweight. We did consider Stakes races, such as the Parramatta Cup, second up however, we felt he would benefit from a slightly easier assignment at this early stage of his preparation. Stayers can occasionally be a touch flat second up, but that aside, the drop back in grade and step up in distance look ideal and I think he will be very hard to beat.

TUESDAY 3rd MARCH - KEMBLARail Position: +8m 1100m-W/Post, +6m RemainderWISHFUL THINKER, Race 4, 1200m, 3.40pm, R King, 58.5kgWishful Thinker is pleasing us ahead of his first-up run. He had two trials in December before going for a short freshen up and since returning he’s had two trials this month, so he’s a fit gelding who’s ready to rock and roll first-up. He showed ability last preparation when finishing third over this distance at Sale, so this is a suitable starting point for him and Kembla’s a fair and expansive track which should suit him. He’s drawn to do no work in barrier 1, so Rachel will be keen to seize this advantage and roll forward to make her own luck on or close to the speed. The track’s rated a Soft 6 at the time of writing but it's been drying out and should continue to do so. There are three older mares in opposition but this race is otherwise made up of his own age group so it’s a realistic race to kick him off in, and we hope he can be very competitive.EXCEED PERFECTION, Race 6, 1600m, 4.55pm, R King, 56.5kgExceed Perfection was most unlucky to be pipped on the post over 1500 metres at this track last time. However, it was great to see him take another step forward from his previous outing and he’s certainly ready to win. This step up to the mile shouldn’t be an issue at this deep stage of his preparation, and Rachel will roll forward from barrier 10 and let him land where he’s comfortable in the run but he’s generally been racing with a bit of cover this time in which seems to suit him. He’s placed in all track conditions so we know he can get through a wet track if it stays this way come race day, and if he reproduces his last start effort he’ll be hard to beat.WEDNESDAY 4th MARCH - WARWICK FARMRail Position: TrueOSO SPIRITED, Race 2, 1600m, 2.20pm, R King, 55kgOso Spirited is delighting us ahead of her first-up run. We elected to give her three trials so that she was as fit as possible before heading to the races, and this has enabled us to kick her off over the mile which is a distance we think will suit her down to the ground. She’s drawn a lovely barrier in 3, so Rachel will be able to flow forward from there and settle where she’s comfortable but we envisage her racing on the pace or close to it. The track is drying out so we don't anticipate any issues with the going, and whilst this is a hot race to kick off in it’s worth plenty of money and she deserves to prove herself at this level so we hope she can give it a good shake to get her preparation off to an encouraging start.SCRUMPTIOUS, Race 3, 1300m, 2.55pm, T Clark, 59.5kgScrumptious ran a great race to finish third at Canterbury last time. The first run outside of maiden grade is never easy, and whilst form analysts will say the bunched finish of seven horses within 1.7 lengths of each other suggests it wasn’t a strong race two horses have come out and won tougher races since, so the form’s been boosted. This race is a nice steppingstone for her and we think she’ll enjoy the step up to 1300 metres, so Tim will let her land where she’s comfortable from barrier 4 but we envisage her racing on the speed as she likes to do. There are a few older mares in opposition and it can be difficult for three year olds to take on older horses, but this is still an attractive race for her and if she can dig deep and find some further improvement we see no reason why she won’t be featuring in the finish once again.CONCHIERO, Race 7, 1400m, 5.15pm, T Clark, 56.5kgConchiero hasn’t put a foot wrong since returning to Sydney. He was brilliant when first-up at Caulfield before then racing a bit flat at Cranbourne last time, however it’s not unusual for a horse to do that after a big first-up effort so we’re prepared to be forgiving of his effort. This race is a slightly tougher grade than those two, but it’s still a lovely option for him and he broke his maiden over course and distance so we know he goes well here which adds further confidence. He’s drawn a lovely barrier in 3, so Tim will likely roll forward to land in a prominent position where he can get into a good rhythm and make his own luck accordingly. He’s taking on some talented horses that are coming into this from stronger races, and he’s might be looking for a mile but we’ll know a lot more after this run and we hope to see him fighting out the finish.