Onthelookout has overcome a liver virus and is back on track for a tilt at his home-town National Sprint (1400m) in March.

The Barbara Joseph-Paul Jones trained six-year-old resumed from a 35-day freshen on Saturday in open company at Canterbury, running an impressive second to highly rated mare Steps In Time.

In the process he easily beat home Group-performed trio Sniper’s Bullet, Star Of Octagonal and News Alert.

It was his first outing since a disappointing sixth at the track on Christmas Eve, which Jones put down to illness.

“His first-up his run was uncharacteristic and we went back and did a bit of bloods on him and it returned that he actually was just contracting a liver virus,” Jones said.

“We got that done, came up with some medications and treated him for a week. Slowly we brought him back around and his last gallop before his race on Saturday was probably his best this time in.

“He was probably a little bit unlucky [on Saturday], he had some good horses in front of him and any other day you’d probably expect those horses to take you into the race but no-one took him into the race and he had to do all the donkey work from the back of the field.

“If someone took him into the race somewhere into the straight he probably would’ve had some sort of sprint left to finish it off a bit better.”

One of the state’s most under-rated Sydney-grade horses, Onthelookout attracted interest when he opened a $50 chance two days before the race and come Saturday was posted a $26 hope by on-course bookmakers.

When he jumped barrier seven he’d firmed to $16.

“I’ve always had a bit of an opinion of him, I’d like to think he’s around about a Group 3 level horse,” Jones said.

“When he comes up against those horses he goes well against them without actually winning.

“That first-up run he ran sixth and if you go through his record, I think of all his starts I don’t think he’s finished worse than fifth.”

Jones said the horse would target a 1300m Benchmark 90 handicap at Warwick Farm in three weeks before heading into the National Sprint on Black Opal Stakes day.

“We put him in there last year second-up over 1400 and he ran a gallant race - it was his first go at a 1400 and since then we’ve tried him at the 1400 and he’s run very well at it,” Jones said.

“The distance doesn’t hold too much fear for us any more and it’s going to be probably his fourth run in.
“We’ll just keep potting away with what we’re doing.

“I think the owners are passionate about winning the Wagga Town Plate with him. They’ve been going to Wagga for 20 or 30 years a lot of the owners and they want to win the Town Plate.

“That’s another goal.”