Adelaide Cup placegetter Norsqui will be heading north for the Group One Sydney Cup later this month but first Tasmanian trainer Walter McShane will give him a tune up at Flemington on Saturday.The diminutive gelding, who hasn't raced for five weeks, will drop back sharply in distance in the National Jockeys Trust Hcp (2000m)."He'll run in the 2000-metre race on Saturday to tune him for the Sydney Cup," McShane said."We're hoping for rain. We need something in our favour and rain would be the th

Adelaide Cup placegetter Norsqui will be heading north for the Group One Sydney Cup later this month but first Tasmanian trainer Walter McShane will give him a tune up at Flemington on Saturday.

The diminutive gelding, who hasn't raced for five weeks, will drop back sharply in distance in the National Jockeys Trust Hcp (2000m).

"He'll run in the 2000-metre race on Saturday to tune him for the Sydney Cup," McShane said.

"We're hoping for rain. We need something in our favour and rain would be the thing that would help him.

"He's such a skinny horse. We've got a little bit of weight back on him since the Adelaide trip.

"We got him up to 430kg after a fortnight of feeding him up and not working him much but we've stepped his work up again now."

McShane has been encouraged to raise the bar with the Matsqui five-year-old who won the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) from Drunken Sailor before finishing a two-length third to Rialya and Drunken Sailor in the Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville on March 12.

"He's been pretty much one-paced until he won at Mornington with a turn of foot that we haven't seen before. It was very encouraging," McShane said.

"In Adelaide he had the second top weight (56kg) and a wide barrier (19 of 20). We just need something in our favour."

Norsqui, who has won seven races and been placed in another eight for prizemoney in excess of $375,000, is weighted on the minimum (52kg) in the $500,000 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick on April 28.

He will meet Drunken Sailor, placed behind Manighar and Americain in last Saturday's Group One BMW (2400m) at Rosehill, with a 3.5kg weight advantage in the Sydney Cup as he did in the Adelaide Cup.

McShane is confident of Norsqui's ability to handle 3200m having raced three times at the trip and finishing third on each occasion.

He ran third to Niwot in the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington in May last year and third to Olympic Win in the Sandown Cup last spring.

"Each run he's had over 3200m he's finished on well so I don't think the distance is a worry," McShane said.

"He's tough and he's honest."

There are 35 nominations for Saturday's race including Victoria Derby runner-up Induna, stablemate Chasse, Testascana, Stand To Gain, Lucky Eighty Eight, Playwright, My Bentley, Laristan, Boom `N' Zoom, Hissing Sid and Full Peal.

Robert Smerdon is the new trainer of last year's Sydney Cup winner Stand To Gain whose last run for the Chris Waller stable was when last to then stablemate Permit in the Listed Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on March 31.