Knight's Choice is poised to become the first Lexus Melbourne Cup winner to run in an All-Star Mile after impressing in a trial at the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday morning.
The five-year-old made his first public appearance since winning last November's Lexus Melbourne Cup in the 1000-metre hitout and accelerated impressively along the inside over the final 250m to defeat Calico Jack by half-a-length in a time of 1:03.61.
The performance brought a smile to the face of co-trainer Sheila Laxon, who revealed that Knight's Choice is likely to resume at the scene of his greatest success with the All-Star Mile a genuine possibility.
"His options are fairly restricted, so we're looking at the TAB Australian Cup or the All-Star Mile," Laxon told RSN927, before later adding.
"He's pretty forward and I'd think probably he'd go first-up into a race like that (All-Star Mile).
"A trip away brings them on anyway and you probably don't want to do too much with him to get him ready for a mile. I think he's probably ready for a mile as his next start."
The All-Star Mile, now worth $2.5m but officially recognised as a Group 1 event, this year becomes cemented as a Flemington after previously being rotated among Melbourne's three major tracks.
Knight's Choice, a son of Extreme Choice, secured his place in Australian racing history with his shock win at $91 in last year's Melbourne Cup, but his first four wins came in races around 1600m, including the Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m).
The All-Star Mile, which this year's joins the Yulong Newmarket Handicap on the VRC's long weekend program, is run three weeks before the $2.5 million Group 1 TAB Australian Cup (2000m).
The only other race Laxon, who trains with John Symons, identified as a likely start for Knight's Choice is the $1.2m Q22, a 2200m race run in Brisbane in June, suggesting that the remainder of the campaign would be weather-dependent for the gelding who prefers dry tracks.
"It's going to be in the lap of the Gods about the weather about where he does run, if he runs, so it's a little bit of a quandry for us," Laxon said.
"But we'll prepare him and I'm sure he'll put his best foot forward on the day."
