The positives outweigh the negatives by two to one for Famous Seamus going into the Liverpool City Cup, a race not originally on his program.

Trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith planned to start the Group One winner in the Canterbury Stakes but has brought things forward a week to Saturday’s Group Three 1300m sprint at Randwick.

“I put him into the race to see what weight he would get,” Mayfield-Smith said.

“I thought he would get 60-1/2 kilos but he gets in with 59 which is pretty good.

“He will also get a firm track which is in his favour but once again he’s come up with a bad barrier in Sydney.”

Famous Seamus has barrier 12 of 16 but will come in two spots if the first two emergencies don’t gain a start.

“I was happy with his trials and this race fits into his program,” Mayfield-Smith said.

“Obviously with him it’s weather dependent and we don’t want to run him on wet tracks.

“The William Reid Stakes in Melbourne is a race we are looking at or maybe he could run in the Galaxy but the TJ Smith is the aim, depending on the weather.”

The Group One William Reid Stakes (1100m) is at Moonee Valley on March 24.

While Mayfield-Smith makes no secret of his admiration for Famous Seamus, with Unequivocal it’s a case of what might have been.

As a two-year-old, Unequivocal relegated subsequent Group One winners Delectation and Peggy Jean to second and third over 1200m at Rosehill.

But after that race in February 2014, Unequivocal broke a pastern and spent 10 months recuperating.

Her career has been restricted to 15 starts, two of which she has won.

On the plus side, her two wins mean that even if she is successful in Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap (1200m) she is still eligible for the $400,000 Provincial Championship at Randwick on April 9 if she can win a heat on the way.

“The plan is to run her tomorrow and then one of the heats and hopefully she makes the final,” Mayfield-Smith said.

Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au