Country Championships goal for Glow 

Experienced Canberra horseman Keith Dryden is hoping Saturday's Highway Handicap winner Eastern Glow can develop into a candidate for the Country Championships. 

The lightly-raced four-year-old had a troubled start, going through a fence as a young horse and injuring his knee. 

Dryden gave him plenty of time to recover from the issue and has started to reap the rewards with Eastern Glow's Rosehill victory his fourth in six starts. 

The gelding had to overcome a wide draw and launched his run late under Tyler Schiller to nab King Of Spades by the barest of margins - a nose. 

"If we can get him in the Country Championships qualifier he will go to that," Dryden said. 

"I thought he could win today, even with the barrier. If he had drawn a barrier, I would have nearly declared him. 

"He's a really nice horse this horse and with six months under his belt he could measure up to the lower benchmarks in Sydney on a Saturday." 

Eastern Glow is raced by Louis Mihalyka's Laurel Oak Bloodstock, the syndicator a long-time supporter of veteran trainer Dryden, the pair combining to win the 2019 The Kosciuszko with Handle The Truth. 

"It's great to train another winner for Louis," Dryden said. 

"We've been together for 36 years and he said, 'when are you giving it up?' and I said, 'when I can't walk'." 

Big Red gets nod of approval from Prebble 

Brett Prebble knows what it takes to win a Golden Slipper having captured the juvenile showpiece in 2010 aboard Crystal Lily and he believes Canonbury Stakes winner Red Resistance has the hallmarks of a top-class two-year-old. 

Saturday's Listed race was Prebble's first black-type win since the star hoop relocated from Melbourne to Sydney at the start of the month. 

He also rode the colt in his debut win two weeks ago and said he hadn't been as excited by a horse since he landed a hat-trick of Group 1 victories on Incentivise in the spring of 2021. 

"He's one of the most exciting horses I have been on," Prebble said. 

"Obviously I rode Incentivise and he was huge, but this colt is really putting his hand up and is going the right way towards a big race." 

Red Resistance is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, themselves no strangers to Golden Slipper success having won the race with Farnan three years ago, while Waterhouse has captured it another six times on her own. 

Prebble says Red Resistance is still learning but has the conformation and attitude to go a long way. 

"He's big and strong, he wants to be competitive and wants to do it. He wants to please you," Prebble said. 

New jockey for Sejardan 

Brenton Avdulla has been booked to ride Sejardan when the colt resumes in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) at Randwick next Saturday. 

Jason Collett had been Sejardan's regular jockey in Sydney but committed to the Michael Freedman-trained Communist in the same race. 

Sejardan tuned up for his return with an exhibition gallop between races at Rosehill and while it didn't go quite to plan when galloping partner Above And Beyond didn't want to run early, the point of the project was eventually achieved. 

With Avdulla in the saddle, Sejardan sat off Above And Beyond and accounted for him comfortably to take out the 800m gallop by three-quarters of a length in a time of 51.64s, coming home his final 600m in 36.77s. 

"It was hard to get a guide on him because they went so slow, but he stretched out when he was asked. It was just a nice gallop for the day," Portelli said. 

"He was very fresh at the trials the other day, he got his leg up in the barriers so we just wanted to take the edge off him for next weekend. 

"He resumes in the Eskimo Prince next Saturday." 

Spacewalk posts overdue win 

He lost a valuable stakes win on protest in the spring but Spacewalk will be given every opportunity to right the ledger after landing a confidence-boosting second-up victory at Rosehill. 

The Godolphin three-year-old was first past the post in the Listed Poseidon Stakes (1100m) at Flemington in September but was relegated to second in the stewards' room, an effort that followed a close second in the Listed The Rosebud when he cost himself the win by ducking out. 

He has returned this campaign as a gelding and on Saturday at Rosehill broke a 10-month run of outs in the Schweppes Plate (1200m), scoring by 1-1/4 lengths over Destination. 

Trainer James Cummings isn't getting carried away but is keen to give Spacewalk another opportunity in better grade if he continues to please the stable. 

"It's good to get one in the back of the net with this horse," Cummings said. 

"It's not about today, it's about where he goes from here. 

"He's got a good foundation now with two runs this campaign, he's run well both times, he's been gelded. There is every reason now for Spacewalk to keep surging ahead and be a proper horse. 

"Maybe a Zeditave (Stakes), maybe a Fireball (Quality), races like that are in his ball park." 

Quote of the day: "He is a tricky old horse Above And Beyond. He got the award for having the most amount of starts at ATC meetings for the year last year and went around there like he had never been to a track before."- trainer Gary Portelli after Above And Beyond was reluctant to get out of a canter during an exhibition gallops with stablemate Sejardan at Rosehill.