Uncommon James expected to be much improved in The Galaxy at Rosehill

Queensland sprinter Uncommon James is as good as he’s looked for some time, says trainer Matt Hoysted, heading into the Group 1 The Galaxy at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Matt Hoysted is confident his star sprinter Uncommon James can get back to his blistering best heading into the Group 1 The Galaxy at Rosehill on Saturday.

The six-year-old gelding made his comeback to racing, after a nine-month lay-off, on March 8 in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick where he finished a creditable fourth, with Kiwi sprinter Jedibeel storming to victory.

Uncommon James led with 100m to go but his lack of race fitness proved telling as he faded to finish a creditable fourth.

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But Hoysted said the Group 1 champion is physically looking as good as when he won the feature Oakleigh Plate (1100m) in 2023 at Sandown.

“He’s derived a fair bit of fitness improvement from that first-up run,” the trainer told Racenet on Wednesday.

“Being first time back at the races (since last June), he pulled up pretty big on the back of that run and had a massive blow.

“He had a gallop on Monday morning on the course proper at Rosehill and worked up nice and sharply there.

“I’m really happy with how he presents going in (to The Galaxy).

“It’s a little bit of a tricky gate (eight) but if he can get the right sort of run and get across cheaply enough, I think he can play a big part in this race.

“Physically it’s as good as he’s looked for some time. He just seems to be in a good headspace. He showed that zest on race day (on March 8), which I needed to see.”

Uncommon James faces stiff opposition in The Galaxy at Rosehill on Saturday. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

TAB has rated the Queensland gelding as a $23 chance in The Galaxy (1100m) against topliners such as Private Harry ($3.50), Briasa ($7), Commemorative ($7.50) and Growing Empire ($8.50).

Damian Lane has ridden Uncommon James in the past two editions of The Galaxy (runner-up in 2023 and fifth last year) and he will again be on-board at Rosehill on Saturday for Golden Slipper day.

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“He knows the horse pretty well and has ridden him for a big chunk of his career. We were happy to chuck Damian back on,” Hoysted said.

If Uncommon James can pull off an upset on Saturday, he would become the first Queensland-trained galloper to win The Galaxy since Tony Gollan’s champion Temple Of Boom in 2012.

Hoysted admitted Uncommon James, who had an outstanding second-up record (5:3-1-0), would need to be at his best to win The Galaxy but the Challenge Stakes run would put him in good stead.

“He gave a good sight at the top of the straight but we’ve dissected the race and they were carving up pretty hot splits early,” he said about the gelding’s last-start effort.

“That was always in the back of my mind and I knew he would probably be feeling the pinch late.

“You can’t replace match fitness and now he’s had that run, he’s really tightened up physically and will present much fitter at Rosehill on Saturday.”

Originally published as Uncommon James expected to be much improved in The Galaxy at Rosehill