He is among Wentworth Park's most prolific winners and Sunburnt Highway looks poised to end the year on a high note by notching his 22nd victory at headquarters on Saturday night.
Judith Richardson's grand old campaigner has box eight in Saturday night's 520m Masters Stakes and after winning a top grade Free-For-All at Wentworth Park on December 2 should relish dropping back to "veteran'' class.
Sunburnt Highway was far from disgraced at his most recent Wentworth Park appearance when he chased home Incapacitated, whose winning time was fastest of the four match races in the in the Christmas Gift Shootout series on December 19.
Sunburnt Highway has earned over $254,000 from winning 32 of 114 races and should have little trouble adding another $5000 to his tally on Saturday.
Up-and-coming stayers Stanley Road and Prim And Proper will be on trial for starts in the group 2 Summer Distance Plate when they meet in Saturday night's Get Your Name Here Stakes, a 720m fourth and fifth grade.
Heats of the Plate will be held at Wentworth Park on January 16 with the $40,000 to the winner final over 720m a week later.
The David Smith-trained Prim And Proper led throughout at her first staying test on December 16, clocking 42.57 over 720m at Wentworth Park in a 10 lengths winning romp.
Trainer Mark Gatt said: "Stanley Road is getting better all the time and I was very happy with his third to Here's Tears because he was in the race for a long way.
"I have always believed he could develop into a stayer and I now think he can make the grade, although Prim And Proper is obviously going to be hard to toss on Saturday.
"If she pings straight to the lead like she did at her only 720m test she is going to be hard to catch.''
Twisted Again, who has been placed in four of his five Wentworth Park outings, gets his chance to break through after drawing box three in Saturday's Ladbrokes Back Yourself Stakes.
Twisted Again made the pace until the top of the straight when second to Eva One at his most recent Wentworth Park outing and followed that with an all-the-way win over 515m at Bulli in the best time of the night.
"He is a nice dog who can get out of a box, who rails well and who likes Wentworth Park,'' trainer Stuart Hazlett said.
"I put him into that 515m race at Bulli on December 22 hoping to toughen Twisted Again up a bit, because that is a hard run and he has not been finishing strongly at Wenty.
"Box three on Saturday seems a good draw for Twisted Again but I'm wary of Peter Rodgers' bitch Eva One, who ran down my dog at Wenty on December 16.''
But while Eva One had box one in that clash, she moves out to box seven on Saturday, while Twisted Again could benefit by the presence of the wide running Lucky Eleven in box four.
Trainer Angela Della Bosca and her partner Graham Sheather have made six round trips of eight hours apiece from Young to Wentworth Park since November 7 and will embark on the trek again on Saturday with Speaking Spanish and Gordito.
"We're not complaining because Wenty is where the money is and while the trip can be a bit tiring the bank balance is looking okay,'' Sheather said.
"Speaking Spanish has box one in the billcrews.org Stakes and if he comes out like he has been doing and runs his customary 13.90 to the back straight he has a good chance.
"When he finished second to a classy dog in Ad Astra at Wentworth Park last Saturday I thought it was his best run at Wenty, even better than when he won there on November 28.
"Gordito has box three in the Roosters Traffic Control Stakes and while he won at Wentworth Park last Saturday from box six, he is better drawn this week.
"Gordito has always got away better from inside boxes and while Saturday's race is a bit tougher the better draw helps.''
