Protectionist will be trying to become the first Melbourne Cup winner since Makybe Diva to claim the BMW in the same season, a feat she achieved a decade ago.
However, Lees is also mindful the same race proved a bridge too far for the champion mare after the first of her three Melbourne Cup wins 12 months earlier.
She was beaten into third by Grand Zulu before going on to claim the Sydney Cup, a race which is part of Protectionist's autumn campaign.
Lees is still on a learning curve with the German import but Protectionist's two campaign runs over middle distances in Melbourne have provided the trainer with some important insights.
"We've learned that he is a genuine two-miler," Lees said.
Despite his status as the reigning Melbourne Cup winner, Protectionist will go into the weight-for-age contest as a virtual second stringer for the stable.
Lucia Valentina has been marked higher in the market and backs up after finishing third to Contributer in the Ranvet Stakes last week.
Jim Cassidy takes over from the suspended Hugh Bowman and Lees expects the mare to relish the extra distance which she has raced over twice for placings in the Australian Oaks and Caulfield Cup.
"She's backed up previously in New Zealand and two of her best runs have been at 2400m without winning," Lees said.
Japan's To The World has commanded the early attention from punters, usurping Godolphin's Hartnell for BMW favouritism shortly after markets opened on Wednesday.
Lucia Valentina ($8) and Protectionist ($11) remain unchanged.
A year ago, Tim Martin closed his Rosehill stables and all but disappeared from Sydney racetracks.
His marriage was over, so, too, his dream of having a training base in Sydney complemented by a farm for his horses on the city's outskirts.
The man who trained Exceed And Excel, Murtajill, Typhoon Zed and This Manshood found himself at a personal and professional crossroads.
Martin moved to Heritage Park, a property on the southwestern outskirts of Sydney, where he could train a small team while making a buck breaking-in and agisting horses for others.
The rural lifestyle was a balm for the boy from Walcha who said the past 12 months were the most difficult of his life.
"I grew up on a farm and I always wanted to have a farm near Sydney and have a base where horses could be spelled and agisted and broken in, and have Rosehill," Martin said. "That's what we were doing and unfortunately we came to a fork in the road.
"It is what it is. You've got to deal with it and get on with it. I honestly thank God for the horses, otherwise I don't know where I'd be. If I couldn't ride a horse or shoe a horse I'd be in trouble. It hasn't been easy."
One of the horses that has helped Martin keep a hand in the racing industry is Heavens Above.
The filly will contest the Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill today as she heads towards the ATC Australian Oaks. Today's race will be her sternest test and not even Martin can make a case for her to beat odds-on favourite First Seal. However, he is adamant Heavens Above stacks up to the rest.
- AAP
