Flying sprinter Marway will face his toughest test at Randwick on Saturday.

With 27 starts under his belt and a winning strikerate of just under fifty per cent, Marway might be considered a polished performer.

But trainer Mark Newnham says the former North Queensland galloper is still a work in progress.

The five-year-old arrived at Newnham’s Sydney stable in January at the behest of his owners, who were keen to give the eight-time Rockhampton winner a chance in the big smoke.

Newnham happily accepted the challenge and Marway made a good start for his new trainer, winning two of his first four runs.

However, Newnham felt the horse had more to offer so despite the early success, he continued to fine-tune the gelding behind the scenes, educating the natural speedster to harness his biggest asset.

While the horse is still learning to pace himself, Newnham’s work appears to be yielding results.

Marway downed promising galloper Count De Rupee two runs ago and backed it up with a superb display of sustained speed in the Wagga Town Plate (1200m) when he demolished inaugural Kosciuszko winner Handle The Truth by four lengths.

His next challenge is to reproduce that performance in Saturday’s Fujitsu General Handicap (1100m) at Randwick.

“The start before (Wagga) he went like a rocket and still won, but if he contains his speed he’s good,” Newnham said.

“It doesn’t matter about the gate, getting him to relax is the key.”

Stable apprentice Tom Sherry rode Marway at Wagga and was pencilled in for the ride on Saturday before he was ruled out with injury.

In his absence, Rachel King takes the mount from barrier six and knows the horse well having partnered him in three of his six Sydney starts.

He was a $2.60 elect on Thursday but faces some tough opposition, headed by Takeover Target Stakes winner Enchanted Heart ($6) and her Kris Lees-trained stablemate Wandabaa ($5.50).

Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au