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Comments from the trainers of every runner in the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

1. Cavalier Charles (Matthew Dale, Canberra): "He heads into it rock-solid fit and in very good form. The extremely wet track is the variable, but he's in great order. I like him with some sting out of the ground, he's always at his best like that, but on a really heavy track I still haven't got a full handle on him. But we're optimistic going in and he's a very consistent horse. He likes a fast-run 1400 on a big open track, as he showed when he won the wild card at Scone. The final is generally run that way, so it should be ideal for him. And I think Jamie Kah will really suit him."

2. Far Too Easy (David Mccolm, Murwillumbah): "I'm really happy with him. We've had some interruptions to his preparation due to the floods forcing us to leave Murwillumbah and head to Scone, but he settled in beautifully there. He hasn't raced on a heavy track yet, but he loves soft going and has won three out of three under those conditions. I'm happy with the barrier (one) and I'm certainly happy with the jockey (James McDonald). I'd say he'll be about midfield in the run and just looking for the right opportunity to pounce from there."

3. Another One (Gary Colvin, Wagga): "Couldn't be happier with him. We worked him at Wagga on Tuesday and then transferred him to Kembla for the last few days leading up to the race. I've had some bad luck drawing barriers so I was pretty happy when we drew eight. He gets through the wet pretty well. Handles the soft tracks and ran second in his only start on a heavy and probably should've won that day, down at Wagga. He's going better now and is more mature than he was when he finished second in last year's final as a three-year-old.".

4. Testator Silens (Luke Clarke, Braidwood): "He's excellent. He's come through terrific from his jump-out last week and his gallop on Tuesday. He hasn't raced since he won his qualifier seven weeks ago, but he has raced very well fresh before. He's a very fit horse and has never had a long break since I've had him, so he never gets too fat or anything like that. Great form has come out of the last few races he's won. He's got a wide gate, but he'll bounce out well, like normal, and we'll look for options – maybe three deep sixth or seventh, hopefully with cover."

6. Edit (Cody Morgan, Tamworth): "Really happy with how he's come on. He's going to the final in a lot better shape than he was for the wild card, when he really needed the run and still ran second to qualify. Good horses can pick themselves up quickly off the back of a run like that and he's in great order now. His trackwork, his coat and his demeanour are all good. The market seems to want to risk him a bit and maybe that's because of a gut-busting run first-up and then 13 days into a heavy 10 track, but if there's any horse in my stable that can handle that scenario it's him."

7. Anethole (Cody Morgan, Tamworth): "Terrific win in the heavy conditions in the qualifier at Tamworth and that gives us confidence knowing it's going to be heavy again at Randwick. It also gives us confidence that he's had a win and two placings in his last three runs at Randwick. The draw (14) is not ideal for him, but other than that I'm really happy with how it's all gone. I think he'll probably go back from 14 – it's pretty tough to try and go forward from such a wide draw in a fast-run race. But he's a fairly adaptable horse, so we'll leave it to Tommy Sherry to weigh things up once they leave the barriers."

8. Commando Hunt (Cameron Crockett, Scone): "He's good. He gave everything he had to run second in the qualifier on a heavy track at Tamworth and took a few days to get over the run, but I reckon he's right back to his best and the more rain the better for him. Loves the mud. He's drawn 11, so I'm hoping Nash (Rawiller) can have him midfield or just a touch worse, with cover. That would be ideal. If he gets the circumstances in which he can put his best foot forward then it's a winnable race for him. He's been to Randwick before and he travels well, so looking forward to it."

9. Tap 'N' Run (Ron Stubbs, Albury): "A heavy track wouldn't be our choice if we had one. The best option would be a good track, for sure, but we can only deal with what we've got so we'll run with that. We gave him a run at Flemington a couple of week ago and I was happy enough with it. It was a funny-run race and he didn't really handle the straight six, but the thing I took from the run was that he finished off strongly and that's his trademark. That's what he did to finish second in his qualifier and if he can take that to Randwick I'll be rapt."

10. Great Buy (Brett Robb, Dubbo): "The horse is really good, he came through his qualifying win really well and freshened up nicely after that. I've put a bit of work into him since and he's coped well and I don't think I'm going to get him any better. My only query is that he's only had one try on the heavy and he didn't do well. He was only a two-year-old at the time, but he got beat a long way. Hopefully now he's a five-year-old and more mature, things might be different, but I don't know whether he can handle it. He has won on the soft, though, and we're in the race and we've drawn well and we should be up in the first four in the run, so we'll be having a crack."

11. To The Nines (Tash Burleigh, Goulburn): "He's ticking all the boxes going into the race. He's got good form on the heavy, won two from two – probably not a Randwick heavy, but we know he appreciates the wet so if he gets a nice run he should put his best foot forward. We were going to have a lead-up race, but they were called off twice so he's had a barrier trial and a jump-out and that's been plenty for him. Very happy with barrier four – he should be well placed, four or five back in the run, then peel out and head for home."

12. Amulet Street (Clint Lundholm, Dubbo): "He's a very consistent horse and he's done well since the qualifier. With the track being wet, which he likes, and Hugh Bowman aboard we're confident he can run a good race for us. I rode for Hughie's dad when he was a trainer and I've known the family a long time. Hughie rode him in the qualifier and it was very exciting when he accepted the ride again for the final. He's drawn well in six, so he should be able to position up nice and handy. He's fit and well and on a wet track you never know what sort of result it might throw up."

13. Lockdown Gamble (David J Smith, Mudgee): "He's flying – looks really good. It's obviously going to be a testing track, but we're going to be coming into it extremely fit. He's got a bit of wet form, won on a Soft 7 and ran fourth on a really heavy track over an unsuitable distance. He's definitely more effective on top of the ground, but he will handle it. Hopefully from the wide barrier we can get a trail, a touch better than midfield. The fence might be a bit off by that stage of the day and hopefully we can storm down the middle over the top of them."

14. Zoukina (Stephen Lee, Ballina): "She arrived in Sydney on Thursday morning. Travelled well and has settled in fine. Second to Far Too Easy in the qualifier and she pushed that horse late in the race and he's the favourite for the final, so you've got to be happy with that. She's done enough work since and had a trial and won that nicely. She's drawn a nice barrier (five) and has a top jockey (Tommy Berry) on-board, so we're all looking forward to it. She hasn't run on a heavy track, but she's won on a Soft 7 and has worked OK in heavy conditions."

15. Swamp Nation (Glen Milligan, Taree): "She's all good. Won her qualifier very well. Probably a little bit disappointing in her last start at Newcastle, but she needed the run. She was a bit fat and we'd been a bit soft on her since the qualifier. She had a good blow after the race, which we expected. When you're trying to get them to peak twice in a short period of time you've got to give them a bit of a breather in-between. The wet weather suits us and probably brings some of the better ones back to us a bit. She runs well for the girls – all her wins have been with female jockeys. Madi (Derrick) has ridden her twice for two wins and she's got the ride on Saturday."

16. Little Prophet (Colt Prosser, Wauchope): "She's fighting fit and ready to go. I haven't got the best horse in the race, I don't feel, but I've definitely tried to make sure we're the fittest and most ready to go. That's why I gave her a nice, hard run last week at Grafton. She carried the 60 kilos and loomed up to win and probably just got anchored with the weight because she's only a little filly and she'll have a nice drop back to 54 kilos on Saturday. She loves the wet. It's been an issue battling the weather up here, but we were lucky enough to get to Port Macquarie this week and get that little bit of important work into her. She's in cotton wool now, waiting for the big race."

22. How's It Kev (Alison Smith, Orange): "He's fit and well. He was supposed to go for a break after his last start at Coonamble, but Tags had been taken out of the final and we became an emergency so we kept him ticking over just in case. The owners were keen to do that and now it turns out that we're in the race. I really feel for Gayna (Williams) – she got two into the final and they've both had to come out. It's exciting for the owners to have a runner in a race like this. The jockey will try to look for a bit of cover from the wide barrier and go from there."