Sydney’s record-breaking trainer Chris Waller dominates the Rowley Mile 2016 field for Thursday at Hawkesbury Racecourse saddling-up half the final acceptors for the handicap clash.

Marenostro is one of four Chris Waller-trained hopes in Thursday’s 2016 Rowley Mile field at Hawkesbury. Photo; Steve Hart.

Due to run as Hawkesbury Race 7 at 4:25pm (AEST), this year’s $100,000 Listed Le Petit Rose Hawkesbury Rowley Mile (1600m) attracted just eight acceptances.

Four of those come from the stables of Waller including the 62kg top weight Junoob to be ridden by Brenton Avdulla from a mid-field barrier four draw.

The imported Haafhd gelding lines-up as a nine-year-old for the first time, his latest run producing a solid second to Tucanchoo in Rosehill’s Listed Winter Cup (2400m) from early July.

He’s been freshened-up since, but goes up from 61kg that run to a hefty 62kg on Thursday and is also yet to finish in the money from six previous runs over the 1600m distance.

The only other runner over the 54kg minimum in the Rowley Mile weights this season is Waller’s in-form Duelled gelding Marenostro (59kg).

The six-year-old won the Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) two back before his close last start third when under two lengths off the winner Allergic in an 1800m clash at Rosehill only last Saturday.

He is on the quick back-up with less than a week between runs then, but from nine starts over a mile he boasts five wins and a second.

Waller’s other two hopefuls are Shamardal mare Sweet Fire who hasn’t won a race since January at Randwick over the 1600m and Big Bad Bob gelding McCreery drawn in barriers three and six respectively.

European import McCreery is only lightly-raced for his age, the five-year-old a winner of three of his nine starts to date.

He is something of a mile specialist too having had four runs over the distance he’s over again on Thursday for two wins and two seconds.

His last run was in a Benchmark 85 over 1350m at Rosehill on July 30 where he carried 60kg to a fifth behind Super Tycoon.

McCreery will appreciate getting up out over more distance, his last run over the 1600m producing a Gosford win in March, and Tommy Berry’s mount will also relish the drop back from 60kg last time out to 54kg.

The sole last start winner in the Rowley Mile field this spring is the local Jason Attard-trained Haymate drawn the rails with Jeff Penza to ride from barrier one.

A five-year-old son of Oratorio, Haymate saluted over the mile at Wyong on August 5 on a Heavy (8) track with a kilo more on his back and should get a gun run from the alley this week back home.

Rounding out the line-up are the consistent John Thompson-trained seven-year-old Dragon Flyer who has had two previous runs at the track for a second and a third, Waltzing Willie for Kembla Grange trainer Donna Grisedale, and the Jim Scobie-trained Zero To Ten.

Check out the full Rowley Mile 2016 field, barriers, jockeys and weights below with fixed win betting to open shortly at Ladbrokes.com.au.

2016 Rowley Mile Final Field & Barrier Draw

Hawkesbury Race 7 (4:25pm) – 18/08/2016