Half-brothers Esprit De Bullet and Almighty Bullet are poised to give trainer John Hyam a milestone two-state stakes double on Saturday.

The Adelaide trainer is bullish about his chances of notching his first stakes success when in-form sprinter Esprit De Bullet tackles the Doveton Stakes at Caulfield.

And should the gelding land victory in the 1000m scamper in Melbourne, Hyam believes he might not have to wait long for another stakes victory.

Almighty Bullet runs in a Listed race at Morphettville later in the day.

“I don’t usually get that confident but these horses are racing really well,” Hyam said.

“The better horses have gone for spells after the spring and we’re targeting stakes races that are a little bit weaker.”

The Doveton Stakes is run at Listed level and Hyam has his sights on even bigger races should seven-year-old Esprit De Bullet continue to rise to the challenge.

“If he wins on Saturday I’ll probably bring him back home and give him a quick freshen up, look at a race in Adelaide in January, and if everything goes well I would like to take him back to Melbourne for the Lightning Stakes.”

The Group One Lightning Stakes (1000m) is run at weight-for-age at Flemington in February and is the intended target for Black Caviar’s return.

Esprit De Bullet, previously trained by Mark Lewis and then Mick Price, made his debut for the Hyam stable with a third at Murray Bridge in October and has since won two straight over 1000m on the Morphettville Parks track.

Hyam, whose recent run of winners has him fourth on the Adelaide premiership, said the gelding had undergone throat surgery before his debut for the stable which he was told at the time had about a 20 per cent chance of being successful.

“It seems to have worked pretty well,” he said.

Because Esprit De Bullet has had a throat operation, Hyam said he hadn’t pushed the sprinter too hard and was happy to keep him at 1000m.

“I think he’s going to be hard to beat, his times have been super here (in Adelaide) and he nearly broke the track record two starts back,” he said.

“I haven’t had him peaking yet and I think there’s been a fair bit of improvement in him (since his last start).”

Esprit De Bullet is on the second line of betting behind Winter King.

Almighty Bullet has won four of his past five starts ahead of Saturday’s City Of Marion Stakes (1200m).

Far from being disappointed with Malavio’s Hawkesbury Cup fourth, trainer Steve Englebrecht was encouraged by his tough effort from a wide barrier.

Of more concern was the lack of a suitable race between the November race and this weekend when the four-year-old tackles the Festival Stakes on the way to the Villiers.

Englebrecht opted to give Malavio a short break and tune him up for his next assignment with a barrier trial last week which he duly won.

“I thought it was a great run at Hawkesbury,” Englebrecht said.

“Nathan (Berry) had to make a lot of use of him from the bad barrier.

“There wasn’t an ideal race to run him in before the Festival so I decided to send him to the farm for a week in the paddock and to use the trial as a lead-up.

“He’s pulled up well from it and I’m sure he is ready. I just hope he can draw a decent barrier.”

Malavio started from gate 10 of 12 at Hawkesbury and 10 of 13 at his previous start at Rosehill where he finished 10th under 59kg.

The benefit of a good barrier was evident three starts back when Malavio won at Rosehill on October 13.

The Snitzel gelding is out of Win Here Win There who Englebrecht trained a decade ago and his half-sister She’s A Girl was also a barrier trial winner last week.

Darci Be Good, Isopach and Praecido were the horses in front of Malavio in the Group Three Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) and the three are also among the 26 nominations for Saturday’s Listed Festival Stakes (1500m) which is restricted to a field of 17 plus four emergencies.

Monton, winner of the 2011 Festival-Villiers double is also entered along with last-start Group Three winner Mahisara.

Trained by Paul Messara, Mahisara took out the Sandown Stakes on November 17 to record his sixth win from 15 starts.

Luckygray remains favourite to go back-to-back in the Group One Railway Stakes in spite of being provided topweight for the characteristic race in Perth.

Last Saturday’s Lee Steere Stakes winner has been offered 58kg for the $ 1 million occasion at Ascot on November 24 but is at $ four.40 with TAB fixed odds ahead of the Emirates Stakes runner-up Fawkner at $ 5 and 3-yr-old Luke’s Luck at $ six.50.

Fawkner has 56.5kg while Luke’s Luck has 51kg.

Epsom Handicap winner Excess fat Al, who disappointed in the Emirates Stakes on Saturday, is a single of four horses handicapped on 57kg along with large-profile West Australian galloper Playing God.

The Railway Stakes is 1 of two Group Ones at Ascot on Saturday week along with the $ 500,000 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) which is run below weight-for-age circumstances.

Perth sprinter Barakey is the Winterbottom favourite.

He created it ten wins from as numerous starts in the Group A few Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m) final Tuesday.

James McDonald’s hopes of riding on Emirates Stakes day have been dashed on Friday when he failed in his appeal against a careless riding ban from his Melbourne Cup ride.

The suspension policies him out of his four rides at Flemington on Saturday including crucial mounts on Secret Admirer in the $ one million Emirates Stakes and Satin Footwear in the $ 1 million Patinack Farm Traditional.

He’ll also miss out on riding leading-class New Zealand mare Silent Achiever who is a brief-priced favourite for the Group Two Matriarch Stakes and Lightinthenite who runs in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

McDonald, who can return to riding on November 21, was suspended for causing interference in the Melbourne Cup when he rode the runner-up Fiorente.

Brenton Avdulla has picked up the ride on Secret Admirer in the Group A single Emirates Stakes.

Avdulla has won two Group 1 races on the mare – each above 1600m – and last rode her two starts back when she was unplaced in the Caulfield Cup.

Steven Arnold will be aboard Satin Shoes although Hugh Bowman has picked up the plum ride on Silent Achiever, the final-start off winner of the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley.

Craig Williams rides Lightinthenite.

A veterinary inspection has cleared imported stayer Winchester to continue his build-up to the Melbourne Cup.

The former United States galloper was found to be mildly lame during a schedule inspection of horses on Thursday who are even now in the running for a start off in the Melbourne Cup.

Educated by John Sadler, Winchester is an acceptor for the $ 1 million Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington on Saturday for which he is one particular of the outsiders.

The complete has raced 3 instances in Australia and earn some credibility as a Melbourne Cup opportunity with his last-begin ninth in the Caulfield Cup.

“Winchester has been re-examined by our vet nowadays and passed fit to race tomorrow,” Racing Victoria mentioned.

The horse will be provided another fitness check immediately after Saturday’s weight-for-age race.

Meanwhile, the doubt surrounding a Melbourne Cup commence for Green Moon has eased right after the horse came via a hunting gallop at Moonee Valley on Friday.

Owner Lloyd Williams issued a provisional all distinct following the work out for Green Moon, whose Cup prospects took a battering in final weekend’s Cox Plate.

Williams said the horse would run on Tuesday and would be ridden by Hong Kong-primarily based Australian jockey Brett Prebble.

Gai Waterhouse’s impressive strike-rate ongoing in Melbourne when she followed up Saturday’s Group A single double in Sydney by winning the Group Two Gilgai Stakes at Flemington.

Her mare Hallowell Belle ($ 7.50) collected the sprint event when she edged out King’s Rose ($ 9.50) by a few-quarters of a length.

It was a first-up win for the four-year-outdated who hadn’t raced since a Randwick placing on April 28.

Waterhouse collected both The Metropolitan and the Epsom Handicap at Randwick on Saturday.

Her steady representative Dave Meijer explained at Flemington that Waterhouse was now probably to pick a Group One test following for Hallowell Belle.

“Complete credit to Gai … choosing these races for these horses,” Meijer said.

“She’s genuinely clicked with the fillies and mares of late.

“She’s got Far more Joyous, we’ve had Tuesday Joy in current many years and the checklist goes on.

“The world’s her oyster now. We have got people 1400 metre fillies and mares races and we can go to a Group A single with her now,” he stated.

Hallowell Belle could now be set for the Group A single Myer Traditional (1600m) at Flemington on November three, though Meijer would not confirm an entry.

“I will leave that a single to the boss,” he mentioned.

Final-start off winner Longport will have a gear switch for Saturday’s Group One particular Flight Stakes in a move created to enhance the filly’s fighting attributes.

Longport was awarded the Group Two Tea Rose Stakes (1500m) on protest when trainer John Thompson stated he was not shocked she fought out the finish.

But he believes getting rid of blinkers and applying winkers will aid the filly’s probabilities at Randwick.

Christian Reith returns from suspension and takes more than from Jim Cassidy on Longport.

“We just felt the other day (with blinkers on) that she couldn’t see that other horse (Norzita) coming, and when she did see it she kicked,” Thompson mentioned.

“We’re going to go to the winkers so she can see something coming, because she genuinely fights on when one thing challenges her.”

Longport won very first-up at Kembla Grange on the final day of the 2011-2012 racing season and then backed it up with a Warwick Farm win on August 11.

The Tea Rose was Longport’s third win of the campaign but came after a failure behind Spring Champion Stakes favourite Proisir.

“Naturally she went nicely in her first two runs, then I stuffed up going into her 3rd run,” Thompson stated.

“I was also straightforward on her with a three-week break among races and she got unwanted fat.

“In the a few-week break immediately after that into the Tea Rose I trialled her in amongst, kept her appropriate up to the mark, and she won.

“This time it’s only two weeks in between races which will suit her a good deal better.”

Thompson believes Longport will deal with the phase up in distance on Saturday and says the VRC Oaks (2500m) is also in his sights.

“Absolutely everyone that is ever ridden her – any jockey or trackwork rider – they come back in and say `she’s going to be a wonderful stayer’,” he mentioned.

There are twelve nominations for the Flight Stakes including Norzita, Dear Demi and last Saturday’s Reginald Allen High quality winner Urban Groove.

Flemington trainer Russell Cameron is wary of pushing his luck with his filly Lady Of Harrods.

Worried this Saturday’s Group Two Edward Manifold Stakes may possibly stretch the three-yr-old, he has decided not to run her at Flemington.

Cameron is concerned that Lady Of Harrods may well be flattened for her main target – the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 17.

“We’re fairly satisfied the way she is at the moment so we’re just going to consider the punt and go straight into the Guineas,” Cameron explained.

“She’s accomplished extremely properly and we’re really satisfied with her,” Cameron said.

“I just worry I may go 1 (race) too far.

“She’s extremely match and properly now and I truly feel she will run it out the way we have been education her.”

Lady Of Harrods defeated the previously unbeaten Commanding Jewel in her Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) win at Caulfield on September 22.

Cameron will nonetheless have a presence at Flemington because he has nominated the 4-yr-outdated mare Ametsis for two races – the Listed Headquarters Tavern Stakes (1410m) and the Group Two Blazer Stakes (1410m).

He explained Ametsis would run “wherever we can get in”.

“She’s not a extremely extremely-rated filly. She had a excellent campaign in Brisbane without having obtaining a lot luck,” he stated.

“We sense she’s going quite nicely at the moment, we’ve just got to get into whatever race we can,” Cameron stated.

Lamasery, the horse trainer David Vandyke doubted would ever make it back to the races, put himself in line for achievable Group One glory this spring with a occupation-greatest victory at Randwick.

Lamasery won three stakes races and was placed in the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap final spring but spent the up coming nine months off the scene due to arthritic troubles in his joints.

Vandyke has been patient with the talented stayer in preparing him for his comeback and was rewarded when the gelding took out Saturday’s Group Two Hill Stakes (2000m) in his 3rd run back from the lengthy lay-off.

“There’s been a good deal of instances when I’ve believed we would not get here and he would not race once again, allow alone win a Group Two,” Vandyke mentioned.

“We place his back legs in buckets of ice every single morning immediately after function and supplement his work with swimming. It really is been a extended haul.

“He may have been 3rd-up today but to me, it feels like he was tenth-up.

“He’s been in perform for eight months and it’s been a amazing work from everybody involved.”

Lamasery was sent out the $ 3.50 favourite in the excess weight-for-age contest and immediately after settling midfield on the rail, jockey Peter Robl took the chance to angle out into the clear at the leading of the straight.

The six-year-old sprinted swiftly after asked for his energy and raced to the front before Mourayan ($ 9.50) kicked back on his within to get within a lengthy-head on the line.

Lighting Of Heaven ($ ten) was half a length away third with Stout Hearted ($ seven.50) fourth.

“He has only received a 300 metre sprint on him. He (Robl) nursed him for as lengthy as he could and it was a very good field right now,” Vandyke stated.

“That is his greatest win and I’m in excess of the moon.”

The Group One particular Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) at Randwick in two weeks is Lamasery’s next aim before a possible begin in the Caulfield Cup.

“If he wins the Metrop, excellent,” Vandyke stated.

“But to come back and win a Group Two is presently a fantastic achievement after all his issues.”

The Epsom Handicap looms significant for Shoot Out following he overcame evergreen barn mate Rangirangdoo to declare the Group One particular George Major Stakes at Randwick.

The Chris Waller-educated pair kicked distinct of their rivals in the straight and following an epic battle, Shoot Out emerged a narrow winner.

The 1600 metre characteristic was Shoot Out’s 1st commence of the spring and he will now press on to the Epsom at the exact same track and trip in two weeks.

“Clearly we’re looking forward to Melbourne as nicely if we can,” Waller mentioned.

“I assume he’s got a rather very good weight (58kg) in the Epsom thinking about his class.”

Rangirangdoo, who has get over many injuries throughout his occupation, was brave in defeat.

Hugh Bowman rode the winner and paid tribute to the guts showed by the initial and second placegetters.

“As the line drew closer I drew further away,” he mentioned.

“They’re two great horses and it really is a privilege to ride them.”

Secret Admirer again ran constantly for 3rd although three-yr-old All Also Challenging produced ground for fourth after becoming slow to jump.