Racing: Newmarket decision looms

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A tilt at the Newmarket Hcp with a horse coming back from an 18-month injury break might seem like a risk but it's one Sydney horseman Clarry Conners is prepared to take.

Tomorrow will be a defining day for talented sprinter Decision Time, whose fitness will be tested in a barrier trial against group one winners Hay List and Atomic Force.

"I thought I might do something different and run him first-up in the Newmarket," Conners said yesterday.

"He runs in the trial on Tuesday morning and then the weights for the Newmarket come out in the afternoon so we'll look at those.

"He is super. This will be his third trial. He is over all his problems and I couldn't be happier."

The 5-year-old's career has been interrupted by feet and muscle problems but he has still managed to earn more than A$1.3 million ($1.6 million) from his 15 starts.

Conners had him primed for the 2011 Newmarket but was forced to abandon that plan when Decision Time went amiss.

The trainer said if Decision Time did not go to Melbourne for the Newmarket (1200m) on March 9, the Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Warwick Farm a week later was the alternative.

In 2010, Decision Time went within half a length of giving Conners a fifth Golden Slipper when second to Crystal Lily and he is looking to filly Assail to remedy that.

- AAP