Courtesy The West Australian website:

Champion racehorse Northerly needs more "match practice" if he is to win the $2 million BMW (2400m) at Rosehill on April 12.

That is the opinion of top trainer Fred Kersley following the defeat of Northerly in last Saturday's Ranvet Stakes, when he ran a short half head second to Republic Lass.

Kersley is following a plan that has proved a great success in the past with Northerly, who performs at his best when racing in consecutive weeks.

Kersley has nominated Northerly for Saturday's Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill and he will then race a week later in the BMW.

"He needs the match practice racing the right hand way of racing in Sydney and he also needs the racing to bring him to his top," he said.

"He pulled up well from the run, but he indicated he really needed the run."

Northerly is likely to carry top weight (61kg) in the Manion Cup.

"He prefers his racing when coming off a short break and I would feel more comfortable if he was going into the BMW with another run under his belt," Kersley said.

"The only other option I had was to run him against Lonhro and Defier in a 1500m race at Rosehill on Saturday, and that would not have been the best option."

Kersley was also aware that Northerly was a "little lost" on the home turn on Saturday, when having his first run in the Sydney direction of racing.

"He'll get a lot out of the run experience-wise, but it was obvious that it was new to him under the race conditions," he said.

"There were lots of things not ideal for him on Saturday. He was flown to Sydney, in new stabling, and the environment was all different for him.

"He was brave in defeat and certainly not at the top of his game.

"One thing that was overlooked on Saturday was how good the mare Republic Lass was in winning. She's a very good mare, but it will be different next time."

Northerly was one of 12 nominations yesterday for the Manion Cup, but the Sydney Turf Club has extended nominations until today.

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