Barber ready to cut lose in 2025 The Warra

After kicking off Barber’s first stint in his yard with a feature sprint triumph, Warwick Farm trainer Richard Litt is looking to launch the gelding’s second campaign in similarly impressive fashion.

The Exceed And Excel five-year-old is set to contest Saturday’s $300,000 The Warra (1000m), the marquee sprint on the The Gong program at Kembla Grange.

Monarch Racing secured Barber for $215,000 via Inglis Digital late last year, and the purchase paid off quickly when he landed the Listed Takeover Target Stakes. He then ran a strong third in the Listed Ramornie Handicap, which was his most recent start.

“He’s a wonderful horse, he did his job in his first preparation with us, paying his owners back immensely, so if we can knock off one or two more races he’s really done his job,” Litt said.

“We’ve had this race in our sights for a very long time. We purposely tipped them out at the right time, he had a good spell, he’s come back and he’s come back very, very good.”

A proven money-spinner when trained by James Cummings — including wins in the $1m Golden Gift and the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview — Barber has had two soft Warwick Farm trials ahead of his return, both sixths and both by design.

“We’ve mindfully kept him very, very fresh,” he said.

“He’s a horse that can be a little bit lazy and very unassuming in his work, but we also needed to do enough with him to make sure that he’s ready for game day.

“I was very happy with his trials, he’s come through them very well and he’s ready to rock and roll.

“He probably isn’t a true 1000-metre horse but I think the race will map out wonderfully for him. It’ll probably be on fast enough ground, at a fast tempo, he’ll be just in behind the speed and you know he’s going to get a good crack at them late.”