The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable is never one to be underestimated, especially in a feature race during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
The Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday will see the stable with two runners in what has become a stallion making race.
While not at the helm of the stable at the time due to being under suspension at the time, Maher knows what it takes to win the race.
Aaron Purcell was the head trainer with Eustace working in the wings when Merchant Navy won the Coolmore Stud Stakes in 2017 as a $19 chance.
Bruckner ($34) and Marine One ($26) will represent the stable on Saturday and while outsiders, they are in excellent form, and shape.
Marine One runs off a win at The Valley last Friday night and is unbeaten in two starts for the stable.
“He’s just starting to thrive now and furnish,” Eustace said.
“We struggled with his feet early, so we had to peel them back and give him a good break out in the paddock to allow them to grow back.
“Our farrier has done a great job with him and from there we just needed to get his confidence up a bit, and he’s got that now.”
Bruckner has stronger credentials.
After breaking his maiden status at Kembla Grange, Bruckner came to Melbourne to land the prize in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on August 28.
He was not seen again until running third to Kallos in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on October 2.
“He ran well in the Danehill and he’ll be knocking on the door,” Eustace said.
“He’s had a look at the straight and we’ve kept him fresh. We decided not to over-race him too much so we could concentrate on this.”