Canberra's two Kosciuszko hopes are on track to strike a huge blow in the $1.3m race at Randwick next month.
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Defending champion Handle The Truth won his second trial in 15 days on Friday afternoon, only gently shaken out to the line over 900m ahead of a resuming run at Randwick in two weeks.
Jockey Billy Owen sat four wide on the Keith Dryden star throughout, and only pushed the five-year-old over the last 100m to finish almost a length clear of Rob Potter's Shecago.
Dryden will send Handle The Truth into the Kosciuszko second-up, following the winning formula from last year.
Mathhew Dale's Man Of Peace meanwhile will trial next week, and head first-up into the Kosciuszko where he'll run for two Grafton pensioners.
"He's just been ticking over, he's had a couple of course proper gallops here," trainer Matthew Dale told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
"He'd been in a fair while through the winter and the decision to not run him again was made on two factors.
"Racing at the moment there's no hiding, if we run him in sprint races he's going to have to run against the lead up to the Everest horses. While he's got his confidence up like he does there's no point sending him to the wall against the best of the best for no reason.
"If he won a listed race or a group race he's going to be carrying an extra kilo or two into the Kosciuszko so we've decided to just tick him over."
Meanwhile, Our Finvarra powered to an impressive win in the Benchmark 70 Federal Handicap (1200m), notching a deserved triumph for co-trainers John Nisbet and Ron Weston.
Jeff Penza settled the in-form seven-year-old behind the speed and produced him in the final furlong to finish a length clear of Royal Monarch and a gutsy Concrete.
"Jeff's the right jockey for him, he needs to be ridden properly and Jeff can do that, he rides him the way we need him to," Nisbet said.
"He's been really good this time in, and he's turning up every race which he hasn't always done in the past."
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Our Finvarra has found his best form for Nisbet and Weston this campaign, and appreciated being back on top of the ground on Friday.
But Nisbet said the stable would resist sending the son of Krupt to town.
"Tommy [Berry] rode him on a firm track at Hawkesbury one day and said he jarred up, I said he likes firm tracks but he said he jarred up.
"We went to Wagga and he stood in the barrier, we're lucky he didn't get barred. He enjoyed being back on top of the ground today, his last couple had been on softer ground.
"It's too tough up there [Sydney] this time of year, we'd maybe go up there in the middle of winter but not now.
"We'll just keep him around 1000 to 1200 and try and place him somewhere around here."