Flash Fibian to challenge for Roman Consul

A field packed with runners from star stables will jump in the Roman Consul Stakes on Saturday but a gelding from the NSW south coast with “a hell of a lot of speed” could worry them.

Flash Fibian will jump from barrier six in the 1200m race at Randwick and the the three-year-old won’t be fazed by the favourites his trainer Paul Murray says.

“One thing about him is, he doesn’t know who he’s racing against. We can tell on paper but he can’t,” Murray told AAP.

But the odds are stacked against Murray’s runner who is at $35 while Godolphin- trained Astern is the $1.60 favourite.

However that price doesn’t fairly represent his chances, particularly against the Kris Lees-trained Guard of Honour ($11) who narrowly beat Flash Fibian in the Heritage Stakes, Murray said.

“He had a nice run and we were about to come from the tail of the field to run him down. Another bob of the head would have beat him,” he said.

But it won’t be just Guard of Honour or the favourite to beat with Winx’s half brother El Divino ($21), the unbeaten Russian Revolution ($13) and Golden Slipper winner Capitalist ($3.50) all in the mix.

Rounding out the field will be the Chris Waller-trained Nikitas ($101) and Gary Moore-trained Mount Panorama ($51).

Murray said he was confident Flash Fibian had improved recently and would benefit from being ridden quietly, having come from 10th place on the home turn to challenge Guard of Honour.

“He’s always showed us a lot of speed, like his mother which had a hell of a lot of speed,” he said of the dam Langfibian.

Paul and his brother Graeme are now in charge of the stable based at Kembla Grange, which was established in 1967 by their father Bede who died earlier this year.

“It’s always good to have a good horse in your stable that can be competitive and we have had a few over the years,” Murray said.