Mark Newnham has ambitious plans for Shadow Hero and is confident the talented three-year-old can live up to his expectations in the Sydney autumn carnival.
Shadow Hero won the Group Three Gloaming Stakes and Group One Spring Champion Stakes during the spring and was spelled after finishing fifth as favourite at a rain-soaked Flemington in the Victoria Derby.
“He has come back a bit bigger and stronger,” Newnham said.
“Josh Parr was really happy with his trial the other day at Rosehill and he will trial again this week either on Monday or Thursday.
“Physically he has improved.
“I've had a couple of rides on him the last couple of weeks and he has improved but he has to because the other horses around him will improve also.
“I'd say from the Randwick Guineas onward he's going to be very hard to beat in whatever he runs in.”
Newnham has mapped out a campaign beginning with the Group Two Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday week.
He will then target the three Group One races that make up the Sydney three-year-old triple crown – the Randwick Guineas (1600m), Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and Australian Derby (2400m).
“From day one I've always had plenty of faith in him,” Newnham said.
“I have no hesitation in thinking that he can certainly win at least one of those.”
Newnham has Gimcrack Stakes winner Every Rose on a Golden Slipper path after her midfield finish in the Magic Millions Classic last month.
“I think she's probably the forgotten one out of the two-year-olds,” he said.
“She had no luck in the Magic Millions. She's had a little freshen-up since then and she'll have one or two runs into the Slipper.”
Newnham was thrilled with the way Villiers Stakes winner Quackerjack trialled last Thursday when second to Redzel over 900m at Randwick and said the four-year-old was on track for a campaign scheduled to include the Liverpool City Cup, Ajax Stakes and Doncaster Mile.
“He's a great Randwick horse, a good on-pace horse and he'll have no weight in the Doncaster,” he said.
“And that's what you generally need to be a chance.”