Midnight Dynamite ready for Missile Stakes assault

The primary advantage Midnight Dynamite brings to his Missile Stakes engagement with more fancied sprinters Angel Capital and Napoleonic will be his race fitness, though this will be tempered by a drop in distance.

Having been one of the form horses of the Sydney winter, Midnight Dynamite recorded Listed wins in the Civic Stakes (1400m) and the Winter Challenge (1500m), also securing a black-type placing in between.

Trainer Bjorn Baker chose to maintain his campaign, with options including stepping him up to a mile in the Coffs Harbour Cup on Friday or freshening him for the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m), ultimately opting for the latter.

"We toyed with the idea of running him over a bit further in the Coffs Cup, but just timing-wise and with him being deep into a 'prep', we'd rather freshen him and bring him back to the 1200 than go up in trip," Baker's racing manager, Luke Hilton, explained.

"He's in great order. The gate is a big advantage now. He can settle in the first half of a field and if he's sharp enough, I don't think they're going to run past him on fitness."

With the exception of Way To The Stars, who is having his second start of the campaign, Midnight Dynamite's remaining rivals are all returning from a spell.

The five-year-old gelding has a flawless record at the 1200m distance at Randwick, winning his only start over that trip. Hilton indicated that the horse is feeling well and alert heading into Saturday's event.

"He's in a great frame of mind after his last win. We backed right off him for a week, and we've built him back up slowly. He looks fantastic," he stated.

"His work on Tuesday was probably as sharp as I've seen him this preparation.

"It's hard to go to a race like that confident, but I'm confident the horse is as good as he can be."

Midnight Dynamite, listed at $9, heads a team of five runners for Baker, with Amazing Eagle ($4) considered the stable's leading contender in the Ranvet Handicap (1000m).

This five-year-old gelding, who triumphed in the 2024 Brian Crowley Stakes (1100m), was acquired by syndicators Darby Racing as a tried horse, much like Midnight Dynamite, and will be seeking his inaugural victory for his new owners.

Stardeel ($21) is the longest shot among Baker's contenders, having failed to impress in two runs since his impressive initial win at Rosehill in May.

Hilton mentioned that the horse had mitigating circumstances in his subsequent start but did not perform to expectations last time, leading to a revised strategy to help him recapture his best form.

"We rode him back last start and thought he had a good run in the race, but he didn't really finish it off. He's better than that. We've seen it," Hilton commented.

"We've tried to space his runs a touch more into this race and give him three weeks. Hopefully it might spark something.

"He's got a good gate where he'll have no excuses and do no work, so he's really got to step up to the mark because he has been a head scratcher."

Check out the latest racing odds at Australian betting sites for this intriguing contest.