It's business as usual for Newport ahead of Saturday's Group One Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill, with punters giving him little hope of victory.TAB Sportsbet has Theseo the overwhelming $1.90 favourite while Newport is at $17 in the nine-horse field for the 2000-metre feature.Newport got under the punters' guards last start when he stormed home to score comfortably in the Group Three Randwick City Stakes (2000m) last Saturday when he started at $13.And favourite backers would still having nightmares

It's business as usual for Newport ahead of Saturday's Group One Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill, with punters giving him little hope of victory.

TAB Sportsbet has Theseo the overwhelming $1.90 favourite while Newport is at $17 in the nine-horse field for the 2000-metre feature.

Newport got under the punters' guards last start when he stormed home to score comfortably in the Group Three Randwick City Stakes (2000m) last Saturday when he started at $13.

And favourite backers would still having nightmares about his victory in the Group One Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) in October last year when he started at $41.

Trainer Paul Perry said he was not bothered by the markets and is used to the six-year-old being at double-figure odds.

But he does agree that dual Group One winner Theseo deserves to be the short-priced favourite and admits the Gai Waterhouse-trained runner will be hard to beat.

"Newport has done very well and I'm not worried that he's not a favoured runner, he rarely is, but he's in great order for the race and that's all that matters," Perry said.

"My concern is that there is nothing to take Theseo on early and if he gets a soft lead he'll be impossible to run down.

"We saw in the Australian Cup last start that when he gets taken on he can be beaten."

Pre Eminence was the horse who took Theseo on for the lead in the Australian Cup at Flemington on March 7 and the odds-on favourite was picked off late by backmarker Niconero.

Newport's last-start win capped off a remarkable turnaround and got his Sydney Cup campaign back on track after he dislodged jockey Jay Ford shortly after the start of the Chipping Norton Stakes a week earlier.

Newport was subsequently forced to trial to the stewards' satisfaction before the Randwick City Stakes.

"It was just one of those things but it's turned out to be a blessing in disguise," Perry said.

"I've got no doubt that this is the best he's ever been.

"It normally takes him a while in his preps to switch off but he's been relaxing beautifully in his runs this preparation."

Newport will be steered towards the Group One $2.25 million BMW (2400m) at Rosehill on April 4 before lining up in the 3200-metre Sydney Cup at Randwick three weeks later.