Classy three-year-old Uncommon James will be looking to make it four consecutive victories when he lines up in Saturday's Listed Darby McCarthy (1110m) at Doomben Racecourse.
The talented son of Cable Bay returned after a year off on June 25 at Eagle Farm, putting paid to his rivals in a Benchmark 78 over 1200m.
Trained by Steven O'Dea & Matthew Hoysted, the three-time winner will be out to earn himself a ticket on the float to Victoria over the next few months, with the Brisbane stable hoping to take a team of runners south for the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
“It (Darby McCarthy) looks a nice race for him,” co-trainer Matt Hoysted told HorseBetting.
“It was one of the races that were moved back to the end of the carnival once that Doomben meeting (May 21) was called off, so it's worked out well for him.
“He pulled up really well on the back of that, so we're looking forward to Saturday with him.”
After his dominant first-up win, Hoysted suggested that Uncommon James could head to Melbourne in the coming weeks for an “early spring” assault.
The horse was a Listed winner at just his third career start last year when taking out the Oxlade Stakes (1200m), so the stable is confident he would hold his own in Melbourne.
While that dream could very well become a reality, Hoysted insists they must get through Saturday's assignment in Brisbane first.
“First things first is getting through Saturday, he'd obviously need to win and win well to warrant a little trip down south,” the trainer said.
“But at this stage, we'll be taking a small team down to Melbourne, over carnival – more early spring.
“There's a couple of Listed races down there that could suit him. Without getting too far ahead of ourselves – it was obviously only a Benchmark race there on Saturday – but he couldn't have been more impressive.
“He's obviously already a Listed winner, so he's a horse with well above-average ability, it's just a matter of keeping him in one piece, and if he was able to win impressively on Saturday, then there's a big chance he'll race next down in Melbourne.”
Uncommon James is one of five runners the stable has nominated for Doomben on Saturday, with the consistent Contemptuous lining up in the other Listed feature, the Chief De Beers (1110m).