TRAINER Mark Newnham concedes the exciting Lanciato will need to be at his very best to run down a crack field in the Group 2 $200,000 Tramway Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The Tramway field is without early favourite Pierata, who was scratched on Friday with a leg problem, but it still features eight Group 1 winners. To underline the sheer quality of the race, highly fancied duo Lanciato and Tom Melbourne are not among those successful at the elite level.

Pierata had been the ruling $3.30 Tramway favourite but trainer Greg Hickman found the exciting four-year-old had some swelling and to be mildly lame in the near foreleg.

After a veterinary inspection late yesterday, Hickman decided not to risk his stable star, confirming Le Romain was installed the $3.10 TAB Fixed Odds favourite ahead of Lanciato at $6.

“There is nowhere to hide once you get to this grade,’’ Newnham said. “This is a great race and it’s fantastic for our stable that we have a horse that is able to run at this level and be competitive.’’

Lanciato, a six-year-old gelding, has won seven of his 22 starts with his major race wins coming in the Listed Carrington Stakes and Group 3 Newcastle Newmarket.

But Lanciato’s unplaced runs at his last two starts — seventh to Happy Clapper in the Doncaster Mile before a first-up fourth to Pierata in the Missile Stakes — has convinced Newnham that his stable star is at the peak of his powers and capable of winning a major race this spring.

“I would say Lanciato is at his best now,’’ Newnham said. “He is fully matured, he looks physically stronger, and he is very comfortable with his racing style.

“His race sense is very good, he relaxes and saves his energy early and his last 400m is explosive.

“He can be hard to watch, he gets himself into a position where he has to run amazing times but he is very exciting.’’

Newnham believes Lanciato has demonstrated his outstanding ability despite missing a place in his last two starts.

“His Doncaster effort, to my mind, was a career-best run,’’ Newnham said.

“He didn’t run a place but the way the track played that day didn’t help him so his effort to finish as close as he did tells me he is up to this grade.

“Then in the Missile Stakes first-up, I thought he was fabulous. I wasn’t really expecting him to win as he has never won at 1200m and it was his first try at weight-for-age.

“I thought he would run well but he probably ran even better than I expected.

“I couldn’t have him in better shape for his second-up run (Saturday). He has had a month between races, which he thrives on, and he has had an uninterrupted preparation from the moment he came back into the stable after his spell.’’

Newnham said the Tramway Stakes will be Lanciato’s final start before the Group 1 $1 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on September 29. Hauraki (2016) and Happy Clapper (2017) completed the Tramway-Epsom double the last two years.

Tommy Berry is the new rider for Lanciato on Saturday with Newnham believing the jockey will suit his horse.

“Before Tommy went to Hong Kong, he won twice on Lanciato so he knows the horse,’’ Newnham said. “He is a very good rider as evidenced by some of his efforts on Chautauqua. He is cool under pressure and in these circumstances, when you are riding horses like Chautauqua and Lanciato, you have to get your timing right.

“More often than not, Tommy gets it right.’’

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Arbeitsam resumes in the Tramway Stakes as part of his Epsom Handicap preparation.

Arbeitsam finished in front of Lanciato when he ran third in Happy Clapper’s Doncaster Mile earlier this year and Bott said the gelding is primed to run well today.

“In any other race I would be very upbeat about Arbeitsam’s chances, I’d be very confident because his trials and his work has been so good,’’ Bott said.

“But we are mindful of the competition he faces in the Tramway Stakes and although he is going to be better suited meeting a few of these back in handicap conditions, we are very happy with how he is coming up and looking forward to his spring campaign.’’