TIME TO CASH IN

RISING star Sertorius is in the best position possible to claim the biggest win of his career, says trainer Jamie Edwards.

Edwards and training partner Bruce Elkington will saddle up Sertorius (pictured) in the $80,000 Bluecross Community and Residential Services Plate over 1600m at Caulfield today, with the fiveyear-old in top form.

He has returned from a spell with two dominant wins and Edwards said his horse deserved a shot at a big metro win.

‘‘I haven’t got a single query with the horse. It’s the middle of the spring and you have got your best horse going well and you are going to throw a saddle on him without a query . . . it’s a great position to be in,’’ he said.

‘‘I am rapt with how my horse is going and I probably wouldn’t trade a single thing with him and I wouldn’t swap him for any other horse in the race.

‘‘He is the exact same horse we took to Moonee Valley, just a little bit fitter. He seems to have trained on really well. Third-up over a mile is what we wanted to achieve this preparation and we haven’t had a hiccup.’’

While many stables would jump off the ‘‘ lesser known’’ jockeys on the big race days, Edwards said he was happy to stick with Ryan Maloney.

‘‘We use Ryan Maloney and Dean Yendall, and I have an apprentice, and between the three of them they always manage to get the job done,’’ he said.

‘‘Ryan is prepared to do the work and he trials and gallops horses for us. We are full of support for them (jockeys) if they are prepared to do the work.’’

Sertorius has drawn awkwardly in barrier 11, and Edwards said it was crucial his horse started well.

‘‘It’s a tricky gate; both times he has flown the gates and has gone up on the speed,’’ he said.

‘‘It depends on how he begins. If he flies the gates, he should be able to cross them.

‘‘If he goes away slowly, then Ryan will be in a tricky situation.’’

If Sertorius runs up to expectations, Edwards said he would aim his stable star for a race during the Flemington carnival.

‘‘We will keep slowly raising the bar with this horse and we will see how high he can jump,’’ Edwards said.

‘‘If he gets through Caulfield well, there are two races over 1800m on Cup day or on Oaks day. He will go to one of those; it will depend on how he goes and how he pulls up after (today’s) run.’’