Rangatira’s recent performance at a jump-out has trainer Steve Gulliver confident the jumper will be at the top of his game for Hastings on Saturday.

Last season’s Great Northern Steeplechase winner will return from a three-start Australian campaign in the Animal Health Direct Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase.

“He’s better than he’s ever been, jumping out of his skin,” Gulliver said. “He had a jump-out at Hawera over 1400 metres the other day and he was tailed off by 15 lengths at the 600.

“We didn’t expect him to win and he came through on the inside and beat them by five lengths.”

Rangatira stepped out twice on the flat in the autumn before he went to Australia where he was unplaced in the Von Doussa at Oakbank before he finished runner-up on the second day of the carnival in the Great Eastern.

“In his first start he snapped a log and his knee swelled up and we had to get him vetted and I didn’t think they’d let us start again,” Gulliver said.

“They said he was good enough to run and he went well (for second), but after two runs in three days he’d had enough and we probably shouldn’t have gone to Warrnambool, but it was a good experience.”

Rangatira will have a change of rider on Saturday with Cory Perrett to replace Isaac Lupton, who has opted to ride the Raymond Connors-trained Duminy.

“Isaac’s good friends with Raymond and he’s got more horses than me so that’s fair enough,” Gulliver said. “Cory has won two races on the horse and he’s done a lot of the schooling.”

After Hawke’s Bay, Rangatira is likely to run at Trentham in the Grant Plumbing Wellington Steeplechase on July 12 before heading to Ellerslie.

“I don’t think he’ll be going down to Christchurch and we’ll do the same as last year and run in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup and then the Northern again,” Gulliver said.