Atrip away is playing a significant role in the development of Shocking Luck, who promises a strong performance in Saturday's group three Rough Habit Plate at Doomben.
"He's always been quite an immature horse, more so mentally, but he's done a bit of travelling now coming up here from Sydney and that's helped him grow up more," said Jamie Richards, who trains with Stephen Autridge, from Brisbane.
"He's in really good form and I've been very pleased with him. He's able to run on the pace and keep rolling along and 2000 metres will suit him on Saturday."
Shocking Luck made his first appearance since his second placing in February's Waikato Guineas when he finished runner-up over 1500 metres at Ipswich earlier this month. He was ridden by Opie Bosson, who will be aboard again on Saturday.
"He's done well since then and Opie was very happy with his work on Tuesday morning so everything is looking good," Richards said.