‘Nightmare’ prep ends

DOOMBEN Cup fresh blood Fierce Impact is set to put a frustrating stop-start preparation behind him when he returns to his pet trip of 2000m in the Group 1 feature tomorrow.

Trainer Matt Smith picked out the Doomben Cup as a suitable target after Fierce Impact won at Randwick on Boxing Day (beating among others, Hollindale Stakes winner and Doomben Cup rival Life Less Ordinary), but he has been plagued by the ballot.

“We went to the Doncaster and missed a run there as an emergency,” Smith said.

“It’s been a bit of a nightmare prep, but we’ve made it to the race funnily enough.”