McEvoy fresh for The Championships

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy will return to the track after a brief “freshen-up” for more Group One glory during The Championships at Randwick.

After copping a suspension for his Group One-winning ride on Russian Revolution in The Galaxy on March 18, McEvoy says he’s excited to be back in the saddle for the two-day program.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a little bit of a freshen-up leading into Saturday,” McEvoy said.

He praised his wife Cathy – a former jockey and sister to Melbourne Cup-winning rider Michelle Payne – for helping him prepare on race day.

“My wife does a great job of giving me some space and allowing me to prepare properly – both physically and mentally – which is the top ingredient for a sportsman and a jockey,” he said.

McEvoy will ride the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Russian Revolution in the TJ Smith Stakes (1200m).

“Obviously he’s going to find it harder at weight-for-age but he was a fantastic winner at the Galaxy and he’s improved since then,” McEvoy said.

“He goes in there with a good chance. It’s going to be rain-affected ground and he gets through the ground.

“We’ll just have to see how it unfolds. We’ve drawn (barrier) 10, but he’s a horse that’s somewhere up in the front group anyway.”

Russian Revolution is the 5.50 second favourite with Chautauqua the $4.60 favourite to win his third successive TJ Smith Stakes.

McEvoy will have three other Group One rides on Saturday – Tulip in the Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), So Si Bon in the Australian Derby (2400m) and McCreery in the Doncaster Mile (1600m).

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