June Stakes 2014: Unanimously to relish familiar circuit

Unanimously will enjoy a rare visit to a familiar venue when he heads to Randwick for Saturday’s June Stakes.

The Canberra-trained sprinter has raced at nine different tracks at his past 11 starts and was in line to add to his travel load when he was nominated for a feature race in country Victoria.

However, trainer Matthew Dale opted not to pay up for Friday’s Golden Topaz at Swan Hill and said the June Stakes (1100m) was a more convenient target.

“The logistics of going to Melbourne are quite straightforward but Swan Hill is a bit harder,” Dale said.

“We opted for a home game because he does a fair bit of travelling.

“If there was a big difference in the quality of the fields we would have gone to Swan Hill but there’s not.”

A field of 12 has been declared for the June Stakes with weights headed jointly by in-form mare Avoid Lightning and old warrior Mic Mac with 59kg.

Unanimously has half a kilo less and brings an array of form lines into the race.

After resuming with a narrow second to Platelet at Moonee Valley in March, he was runner-up to Pago Rock at Caulfield before breaking through for a deserved victory in the Wagga Town Plate.

The six-year-old then headed up the Pacific Highway to Scone where he beat all but Testarhythm in the Ortensia Stakes.

Dale is adamant the son of Not A Single Doubt is racing in superior heart to any other time in his 34-start career.

“This preparation he is probably in career-best form,” Dale said.

“He won his first start as a two-year-old and a lot of the breed are better at two and three then train off but he has trained on as a six-year-old.

“He is only lightly-raced and we have never over-taxed him in one preparation.”

The June Stakes is one of two feature races at Randwick with the Stayers Cup (3200m) attracting a field of 10.

Chris Waller has three runners – Permit, Secessio and Wazn – while Gwenda Markwell, who won the race last year with Peal Of Bells, will saddle up Pump It.

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