Danny Williams’ Irish-bred gelding Marsabit will undertake his now annual pilgrimage to Rosehill Gardens for his fourth Country Classic (2000m) on Saturday.

The Goulburn housed eight-year-old has become something of a fixture in the $150,000 feature having won at his first attempt in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2024 with a moderate performance wedged between.

Marsabit hasn’t managed to win a race since April 29 in 2023 but has placed in a variety of Country Cups from Orange to Bathurst and down to Albury.

“Historically he has been a better horse up in grade because they run (the races) more genuine and he runs well as is evident when he ran fourth in the Wagga Cup and he ran second in the Albury Cup,” Williams explained.

“In his past life I guess, his form going into this should be competitive enough to be going close to winning but he’s a difficult horse to get fit.

“We’ve got a number of issues with the drying tracks with him and hence why we regulate his distances, we tend to get him fit by racing him.”

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Williams meanwhile will saddle-up his 2024 Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes winner Bandi’s Boy in the Listed Starlight Stakes, one week after his fast-closing fourth in The Warra.

His Kembla performance set his preparation back on track after an eventful Kosciuszko expedition.

“He didn’t come through The Kosciuszko very well,” Williams explained.

“He felt the ground, pulling up a bit average. He had a haematoma on the back on his heel, he must of jumped on his foot on the day.

“He was alright for a few days and then it just sort of developed a number of days after the race.

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“We freshened him up and we looked at the program and if he didn’t run last Saturday, which ended up being a nice race for him because it fell away quite a bit for a $300,000 race, we had the option of waiting for the Starlight and then into the Razor Sharp.

“We elected to run him last week and it appears he has come through the run really well.

“Traditionally he likes it a little bit further, his best races have been 1200m and beyond but we have kept him fresh and we have done nothing with him.

“The only concern I would have is coming from a Heavy 8 back to a dry surface and them being a bit sharp for him.”