A relaxed Gene Andrew is more than satisfied with his stable star Jimmy Mac ahead of his return to racing on his home track.

The Awapuni trainer has been pleasantly surprised by the leading stayer’s condition leading into the Listed Gallagher Marton Cup on Saturday.

“With the family owning the horse there has been no pressure and we just want to do the right thing by the horse,” Andrew said.

“It’s been seven weeks since he last raced, but he doesn’t take a lot to come up. He had a gallop in company last Saturday and he had his final piece of fast work yesterday and he’s more forward than I thought.”

A winner on all three days of the Hawke’s Bay carnival, Jimmy Mac ran third in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy at Riccarton before he proved too good in the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup.

The seven-year-old will earn his connections a $250,000 bonus if he can add the Gr.2 Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup to his record later this month and a further $1 million should he then claim the Gr.1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup.

Andrew, however, isn’t getting ahead of himself and is taking a race at a time approach.

“The horse comes first and we’ll get Saturday and Trentham out of the way first,” he said.

Jimmy Mac will again be ridden by Lisa Allpress, who could also have partnered race rival Pentathlon.

“I didn’t pressure Lisa - things can change and horses can go amiss at any time, but she always said she would stick with our guy,” Andrew said.