McDeed's Tiara plan B; Howlett eyes Tulloch upset; Nangar Jim right for Egg

Up until late on Friday, Sensationalize was set to end that drought in the $150,000 group 1 Gold Tiara for two-year-old fillies at Bathurst on Saturday night. However, high temperatures forced connections to scratch the heat winner.

Luckily, McDeed will still have a runner because the withdrawal brings Wicked Susan, a runner-up in the heats, into the field. The 68-year-old hoped Wicked Susan's better draw, second out on the back row, will help her finish in the money.

"It's unfortunate for the owners to miss out on a big race like that, but these things happen in racing," McDeed said of Sensationalize's illness. "Hopefully from there, Wicked Susan can get a good run through close to the fence."

McDeed, who won the 1993 Newcastle Mile and 1994 Bohemia Crystal Free-For-All with Medowie Prince, took over operations from then-suspended Goozdolphin trainer Aaron Goadsby at his Whittingham property in recent months.

"They put them in my name because they are good owners, they wanted to keep them here and it's been a good opportunity for me," said McDeed, who spent 15 years away from training and driving before returning in 2020.

Before the scratching, McDeed said Sensationalize's wide draw had "virtually puts her out of play".

"And the other thing is the one, Bittersweet, is a flying machine," he added.

McDeed had a win at Bathurst on Wednesday night when Miss Perignon claimed the Tiara bronze consolation.

Meanwhile, Ellalong trainer-driver Michael Formosa faces a tough challenge with Ultimate Cruza in the Gold Crown final for 2YO colts and geldings after drawing the outside the second line.

Ultimate Cruza was a $26 chance after finishing second in his heat from an inside second-row start.

Clayton Tonkin's Fox Dan was a $1.85 favourite from gate one.

Formosa has Syncopated Shuffle in the Tiara consolation after a scratching elevated her into the field.

Lower Belford trainer Todd Howlett expects a sharp rise in distance to suit bargain buy Noisy Boy when he steps out in the group 2, $300,000 Tulloch Stakes (2000 metres) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Noisy Boy worked home down the outside from second last out of the turn to finish fifth in the group 2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) at the track two weeks ago when second-up.

Howlett was targetting longer trips for Noisy Boy in his second preparation and he was pleased with his lead-in to the feature for three-year-old colts and geldings.

"I thought his last start was good over the 1500, he got to the line good and I think the 2000 will be better for him," Howlett said. "He might be able to be a bit closer than last time I think. He's a nice horse and he's pulled up great since his last run. I'm not saying we're going to win it, but he's a definite chance."

A $3500 buy for Tasmanian Dean Richards, the Real Steel gelding has won $77,800, mostly from his victory in a $100,000 super maiden (1550m) on the Kensington track. That has been his only win in seven starts. He was a $21 TAB chance on Friday.

Meanwhile, top Newcastle trainer Kris Lees will try to qualify a second runner into the April 6, $4 million Doncaster Mile with a win in the group 3 prelude on Saturday. He has Rustic Steel ($15) and Ucalledit ($31) chasing a win to book a ticket into the Mile, where stablemate Loch Eagle is assured a start. Mark Minervini's Hosier ($26) is first-up into the prelude.

Lees also has Kalapour ($41) in the group 1 Tancred Stakes and Miss Busslinger ($18) in the group 3 Baillieu.

Dungog trainer Joe McFadyen says Nangar Jim is raring to go for the start of his Golden Easter Egg (520 metres) campaign on Saturday night despite a 20-day break and a minor injury.

Nangar Jim has drawn well in box eight for the eighth and final heat at Wentworth Park, where semi-final places are on offer. Branxton trainer Susan Smith's My Hepburn has box four in the same heat.

Nangar Jim has not raced since winning the Temora Cup on March 10 but he trialled at Wentworth Park two weeks ago.

"When I trialled him he took a bit of skin off one of his pads," McFadyen said. "It was fine within a few days.

"He's drawn really well. He's won five from six from box eight, so he's where he wants to be. The problem is the Easter Egg brings out the best of the best.

"My Hepburn's got tonnes of speed, Alpha Zulu in six has speed and Smooth Plane in the seven has as well. I'll be crossing everything going into the first turn that we come out the other side in front."

Smith also has Whiskey Cobbler in heat six.

Greta trainer Michelle Lill's Canya Exclusive had box one for heat two but was scratched and retired because of injury this week.

McFadyen had one of his biggest thrills in racing last year in the Golden Easter Egg series when Belmont Bullet defied the odds to make the group 1 final.

This year he has a genuine winning chance with Nangar Jim, which was on the second line of betting for the overall prize with the TAB at $12.

"There's new races that have got more prizemoney but none except the Melbourne Cup have got the history of this race, so if I could pick which race I could win, this would be the one," he said.

Muswellbrook (day) and The Gardens (night) also have meetings on Saturday.