Trainer Michael Freedman hopes Thrill Hunter can thrive from a fresh start on Saturday and cap a big week for welcomed additions to his Randwick stables.

Freedman this week gained 20 extra on-course boxes at Royal Randwick in a deal with the Australian Turf Club during the application process for the 65-box Leilani Lodge stables.

Established by legendary trainer Bart Cummings in the early 1980s, Leilani Lodge had been unused since early last year when Anthony Cummings was forced out. Ciaron Maher gained the lease, waited for refurbishments, but then decided to instead move his NSW team into Crown Lodge at Warwick Farm.

The Leilani lease decision this time came down to the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott team and Freedman, and the former won the race. The Waterhouse-Bott move from off-course Tulloch Lodge to Leilani Lodge will end the movement of horses across busy roads to the course.

However, as part of the deal, Waterhouse-Bott gave back 20 of its existing boxes on course to Freedman, allowing him to increase his capacity at Randwick to 75. Freedman, who also has 25 boxes on the Gold Coast overseen by his Hall of Fame brother, Lee, was happy with the compromise.

“We’d been a bit tight for space over the last few months, so it’s nice to get a few extra boxes and take a little bit of pressure off,” Freedman said.

“This is fine. To me, it just gets down to having the right numbers and the extra 20 gives me that bit more flexibility.

“The last couple of years the stable been growing organically, which is good, and we’ve been able to plan ahead for it so we can maintain the one-on-one contact.”

Another recent addition, Thrill Hunter, could be his only runner at Randwick on Saturday.

The filly will have her first start for Freedman in the 1100m two-year-old open handicap. Publican Peter Wynne’s $280,000 yearling won her debut as a $61 rank outsider in the Kirkham Plate in October for Hawkesbury trainer Terry Croft before she struck interference in the $1 million Golden Gift and finished 10th.

She was moved to Freedman’s stable, but not before spending months recovering from an accident. She has since placed in two trials and was $15 (TAB) to return a winner. Tommy Berry rides from gate three.

“She had to have a bit of time off because when she left Terry’s she cut her flank in an accident, so we gave her plenty of time and she’s had a nice steady build up for this,” Freedman said.

“She’s a nice filly. We’ll just see how she runs and make some further plans from there, but I’ve been happy with how she’s been going.”

Freedman also had Satin Summer ($7) in the race but was weighing up whether to save her for another week because of a wide draw. He was set to scratch Polyglot because of a wide gate in the ninth.

Freedman, meanwhile, was happy with the return of Apocalyptic on Friday in a Rosehill trial where she finished off well for third.

A star last spring with wins in the Furious, Tea Rose and Flight Stakes, Apocalyptic was second in the Light Fingers then fourth in the Surround Stakes in a short autumn campaign.

“She wasn’t right, that’s why we stopped,” Freedman said.

“She was carrying a few niggles, but she looks in good order now, so hopefully we can see the best of her.”

Freedman said Apocalyptic would trial again before he locked in targets, which would likely be 1200-1400m races.

“I’m not convinced she’s a miler, even though she won the Flight. You can often see them do that against their own age group,” he said.

He said Galaxy winner Marhoona could trial next Friday and resume in the Concorde Stakes, but Ohope would likely miss the spring after a setback.

Bott hoping for firmer footing

Co-trainer Adrian Bott expects Eviction Notice and Sly Boots to improve on a drier surface at Randwick on Saturday.

Eviction Notice, third in the group 3 Canonbury Stakes and second in the group 2 Silver Slipper, returned a gelding in an 1100m Warwick Farm two-year-old maiden on July 15 and finished second to Castillo King after leading on a soft 5 track.

The son of Stay Inside was a $12 chance for the 1100m two-year-old race at Randwick, which was a soft 6 on Friday with a clear forecast.

Bott hoped a good surface and improvement from the first-up run would put Eviction Notice in the mix.

“I thought he stuck on well,” Bott said of the return effort.

“He’s still learning his craft a bit. He’s still piecing it all together, but I thought he’s still got some good improvement to come.

“If we can keep getting on a drier surface for the weekend, that’s going to be a big positive, but he looks to be in good shape.”

Bott hoped a better surface could also help Sly Boots, which finished five and a half lengths off Tazima last start on a heavy Randwick track. He tackles another 1800m race on Saturday in the sixth, where he was $7.50.

“He had all the favours in the run, he had every chance, but he just didn’t quite appreciate those conditions,” Bott said of Sly Boots’ last start.

“He just couldn’t quite let down as well as he can, so if he’s back on a better surface on Saturday and have that same type of run, I think he will be very effective.

“When he has had the right conditions, he just hasn’t had quite the luck in running, and when he’s had the luck in running, he hasn’t had the right conditions.

“Everything hasn’t necessarily aligned for his him prep, but I do think he’s going really well.”

The stable’s best hope is Lady Invictus ($3.70), which steps back up to Saturday grade in the fourth after a last-start Canterbury win. She was third before that at Rosehill on a Saturday.

“I thought it was a very honest effort from her last time when she was thrown in this grade, being second up in her prep,” Bott said.

“She fought on well after sustaining a run on pace. Going back in grade slightly last start has helped her, she’s got a bit of confidence. She seems to have done well and is ready to step up again.”