Amazake will make just his second race appearance this Friday at Flemington in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m), and the Ciaron Maher camp already sees him as a horse with a long-term future.

The gelding impressed with a debut second over the same trip on March 29 and now takes the leap into black-type company.

Maher is no stranger to success in this race, having previously won it with Throssell and Merchant Navy—though their careers went in very different directions. The latter became a Group 1 star, including a famous victory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

With a staying pedigree, Amazake could follow a different path, possibly towards Derby races later in his career.

“On pedigree, without going too early, he’s potentially a Derby type if he stays,” said Jack Turnbull, Maher’s assistant.

“That’s his page, but he’ll get to a mile and a little further fairly quickly.

“To race the way he did on debut sets him up to go to Friday and then whether we pull up stumps and have a rest for the spring, I’m not sure, but he’s very likeable.”

After chasing home Prestige Ole last start, Amazake tuned up with a 1000m jump-out at Avoca on April 14.

“He had a tick over jump-out. We used it as a gallop as we are a month between runs and he’s been really good since,” Turnbull said.

“He’s really professional, he’s a competitor.

“We were on the fence about his ability when we debuted him at Flemington.

“We knew he went OK, but we thought he might come unstuck a little bit, but he got into a really good spot, travelled well and put in a really good effort.”

Bookmakers have Amazake as a $7.50 chance, behind Legacy Bound ($2.70) and Stay Cosmic ($6.50) in the early market.