Trainer Mitchell Beer is looking to repeat his Boxing Day success at Caulfield of a number of years ago when he brings Scarlet Prince to town for the first time.
After wins at Wodonga and Albury, Scarlet Prince runs in the Neds Punters Toolbox Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield on Sunday.
Beer landed his first city winner when in a training partnership with Max Hinton on Boxing Day in 2015 with Jacqui’s Joy.
Ironically that was in the first race of the afternoon and against five opponents, the same as Scarlet Prince faces on Sunday.
“It’s always a meeting that brings good memories and I don’t think I’ve had a runner at the meeting since,” Beer said.
“Hopefully I’ve saved up all our luck.”
While confident Scarlet Prince can perform well, Beer concedes the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Decent Raine, a Ballarat winner before being runner-up in the Listed Twilight Glow Stakes over Saturday’s course and distance last month, is the testing material.
“He’s a colt I’ve got a lot of time for,” Beer said.
“He’s a brother to Sunrise Ruby and they’re very similar horses. She’s a Randwick winner and was unlucky in the Kosciuszko and has only had seven or eight starts.
“I’m not in a rush to bring horses down to town, but when they’re three, he’s proven more than enough that he’s worth taking down for a crack and it would have been good if Ciaron Maher had forgotten to accept with his filly.
“It will be nice to go down there and see where he stacks up, especially when there’s six and not 16 runners.
“I think if there is a chink in the favourite’s armour, then it’s a race for anyone to win.”