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.