Trainer Matthew Smith is confident World Alliance can fire again in Saturday company after keeping him fresh following an explosive win at Canterbury.

World Alliance scorched past the Joe Pride-trained The Black Cloud over the final 100m of a 1100m benchmark 88 handicap on June 9 after being held up for a run.

Smith has saved the Rubick five-year-old for Saturday’s 1200m test in the same grade, the eighth race, where Jason Collett rides from gate six.

The Warwick Farm trainer has placed World Alliance ($6.50) well in the past, landing six wins and five placings in 16 career starts. His only Saturday city win came at Randwick in August.

“We’ve just wanted to keep him fresh,” Smith said. “He was kept fresh for that last run, and it just seems to be the key to him.

“He just goes good early in his prep and the longer prep you give him, he trains off, so we’ve gone the month between runs.

“He won like someone shot him out of a gun the other day at Canterbury, and he’s going as good as he was going into that run, so I’m pretty happy with him.

“He likes it wet, a good gate and Jason Collett on, and he’s won four on him.”

Smith also has a chance in the feature race, the listed Winter Stakes, with Astero. The seven-year-old was third last start behind Headley Grange and Welwal in the Civic Stakes at Randwick over the same distance.

“He handles the wet no problem and his form at Rosehill is actually a lot better than at Randwick,” Smith said of the $27 chance from gate 10.

“It’s just the gate. If he’d drawn a gate, I would be confident he would be right there. Hopefully a few come out, but he’s going super.”

Smith also has Gerry Harvey-owned Snitzel colt Golden Straand ($10) stepping up from a dominant Gosford super maiden win at his second start to tackle a benchmark 72 handicap.

“You’d probably prefer to see him in a class one or two, but we’re just not getting the races to cater for him well,” he said.

“He’s a pretty green horse still. He’s got the ability, no doubt about that, but he’s not putting it together yet. He just needs some racing, and it’s hard to scratch him from barrier one.”

Smith’s Anythink Goes, second to in-form Thunderlips last start, was a $27 chance in the final race.

“He had a poor prep last prep, but you pull that out, and the prep before that he was just run down late at Randwick and Rosehill,” he said.

“He’s good, fit and well. He’ll be handy in the run, make his own luck and he’ll be boxing away there at the finish. He’ll knock one of these over sooner or later.”

Miracle Spin ($17) was his other likely runner, in the seventh, where stablemate Fioprospero is the fifth emergency.

“He was bloody ordinary last start, so we sent him out to the farm to freshen him up,” Smith said of Miracle Spin.

“He’s in good nick, but he’s off the back of a freshen up at 2000m, so he might just feel the pinch late.”

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At the Sunshine Coast, Smith is chasing the Winx Guineas (1600m) with Millie De Lune ($4.80, gate one), which won well at Randwick over 2000m before finishing fourth there over 1800m when getting back too far in a slow race.

“It was ridiculous the way that race was run, but she’s going super,” he said. “Back to a mile has got to be a query, but I think she’s still learning how to race.”