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Will Hudson aids us with programming and identifies who he thinks is the best placed horse each weekend. Luconi, Saturday 27th July, Kembla, Race 8: Luconi was an extremely impressive winner on debut at Scone. The further he went the more dominant he was, so the step up from 1200-1500 metres looks sure to bring about further improvement. It’s never easy for horses stepping outside of maiden grade for the first time because they’re forced to take on much more seasoned rivals, but a Class 1 race restricted to horses that have only won one race is about as gentle a progression as you can find. He’ll need a bit of luck from barrier 15 but Jean knows how Gai and Adrian like our horses ridden, and he’s got a significant amount of upside on only his second career start so I expect him to be hard to beat.

SATURDAY 26TH JULY – RANDWICKRail Position: RAIL - +11m 1600m-1000m, +12m 1000m-W/Post, +8m RemainderBULLFIGHTER (Race 1, 11.20am, 1100m, T Clark, 56kg)We had hoped Bullfighter would be too good for them on debut at Muswellbrook, but he was unlucky to bump into an above average looking filly who's now won two from two. Importantly, he’s come through that start in wonderful order and learned a lot from it, and he is fitter and a bit more streetwise ahead of this outing. He displayed nice early speed on debut, so Tim will roll forward from barrier 6 to try and take luck out of the equation. The track's rated a Soft 6 at the time of writing, and these better underfoot ground conditions should be much more to his liking compared to the Heavy track he debuted on. The step up to 1100 metres on the expansive Randwick track are two other positives, so whilst he's rising sharply in grade we do feel there are plenty of notable factors that will help bring about significant improvement. He's an exciting colt with a lot of upside, and we hope to see him challenging at the finish. TAORMINA (Race 5, 1.40pm, 1100m, R King, 56.5kg)Taormina has three solid trials under her belt this time in, and whilst she hasn't set the world alight in them she has continued to improve in her track work since her most recent outing two weeks ago. She is nicely toned at the outset of her preparation, and she looks excellent at present so physically we can't fault her. Rachel gets a great tune out of our horses and your filly's blessed with plenty of speed, so Rachel will be positive from barrier 8 to try and get her across into a more favourable position where she can slot into a handy position and travel comfortably. She's resuming first-up against boys and some older horses so it won't be easy, but the 1100 metres is an ideal starting point for her. She’s a talented filly on her day and if she can establish herself in a good rhythm and travel with confidence in the run, we hope she will be capable of fighting out the finish. HA HA HA (Race 6, 2.15pm, 1600m, T Clark, 56.5kg)Ha Ha Ha was terrific in her most recent outing and quickened impressively in the straight to pull away from the field and win in dominant fashion. She’s come through that run in fantastic order and appears to have taken plenty of confidence from it, so she's going into this in a great headspace. She’s stepping up in grade to Benchmark 88 company here and there are some talented horses in opposition who have won several races between them, so despite there only being six runners it's not going to be easy. Unfortunately, Nash Rawiller was unable to do the weight so couldn't ride her again here, but Tim knows our horses inside out and is a wonderful substitute. She showed last time that she doesn't need to lead to win, so Tim has options from barrier 8 depending on where she lands in the run and what the competition for the early lead is like. With only six runners, it could be quite a tactical contest so we don't want to get too far back in the run and risk it developing into a sit and sprint where she gets caught a bit flat-footed, especially as it's her second successive start at the mile. As such, it will be a very intriguing race to watch but she's gone on again since her latest victory and we expect her to be hard to beat once more.SATURDAY 26TH JULY – KEMBLA GRANGERail Position: RAIL - TrueLUCONI (Race 8, 2.15pm, 1500m, J Van Overmeire, 58.5kg)Luconi gave us all a huge thrill when winning in dominant fashion on debut. He was caught wide throughout but the way in which he kicked on straightening and raced away from his rivals was the sign of a horse who's much better than country grade. 1200 metres was a good starting point for him but he's going to relish this step up to 1500 metres, and the slightly steadier tempo of this longer race should enable him to travel comfortably in the run. Barrier 15 is tricky, but Jean will be positive from there to hopefully get across into a more favourable position where he can travel comfortably, on or just behind the speed. It’s never easy for horses to follow up a maiden win, but this Class 1 is a lovely steppingstone for him albeit against some older and more seasoned horses. However, he's in terrific order and is open to a huge amount of upside on only his second career start, so we think it will take a good one to run him down.SUNDAY 27TH JULY – MUSWELLBROOKRail Position: RAIL - TrueSATIN SHIMMER (Race 3, 2.05pm, 1000m, J Van Overmeire, 55kg)Satin Shimmer is delighting us ahead of her first-up run. She has made two good impressions when finishing third in her two trials this time in, and she has shown encouraging improvement in her subsequent track work. She’s strengthened up nicely at the outset of this campaign and has displayed plenty of speed and professionalism thus far, so 1000 metres is a good starting point for her. Jean will be positive from barrier 8 to try and make his own luck from the front, and the long home straight at Muswellbrook should suit her well. The track's rated a Soft 7 at the time of writing and the more it dries out between now and Sunday, the better. She’s resuming at a winnable level, so we expect her to be challenging at the finish to get her preparation off to an encouraging start.