It is a combination of breeding and sheer class that has transformed Better Late into a more accomplished racehorse, and his trainer believes the gelding is on the verge of another victory at Rosehill in the Midway Handicap (1300m) this Saturday.

Gelded prior to his last preparation, the now four-year-old secured two wins from six starts. However, it has been this current campaign where two barrier trial successes have been followed by two second-place finishes, sandwiching a win at benchmark 68 level at Newcastle on August 25.

“He’s by Maurice so he is only going to get better with a bit of time on his side,” Newcastle-based trainer Nathan Doyle stated.

“He has come back in good order and I can’t fault any of his runs this preparation and he’s got the hoof on the till once again.

“The track suits him being an on-speed runner. He’s pretty bombproof.”

A Racing and Sports ratings improvement has been noted at each of his last three starts. His most recent outing at Rosehill over 1200m on September 12 saw him narrowly defeated when James McDonald aboard Formal ran him down in the closing stages.

Positively, McDonald will now partner Better Late from barrier eight.

“You can take that as you will,” Doyle quipped.

“But we are very happy to have him aboard.

“Better Late does everything right and gets out of the gates and makes his own luck and I will be disappointed if he isn’t in the finish.”

Doyle also has Mercy Me competing in the final event over 1100m. This will be her first run since a disappointing end to her winter campaign, where she finished unplaced in the Listed Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) in June.

“Her work was good on Tuesday,” Doyle commented.

“She does need to take the step up from three-year-old grade and takes on the older horses but she seems to be in he right frame.”

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