Phillip Stokes feels Eclair Sunshine may have the measure of his Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) rivals – with one very notable exception.
It took a rising superstar to beat the South Australian gelding last time when he hit the lead in the Exford Plate at Flemington and was only just nabbed on the line by Royal Symphony.
While Royal Symphony would have been a tragic tale if beaten, Eclair Sunshine came from midfield and was brave in defeat.
The son of All Too Hard is a $10 chance on Sportsbet for Sunday's Caulfield Guineas Prelude in a rematch with Royal Symphony ($2.05 fav).
Adelaide trainer Stokes doesn't sound too worried about other rivals such as Kementari and he feels Eclair Sunshine would be the one to beat if Royal Symphony wasn't in the field.
But Stokes concedes it may be only bad luck – or possibly the Caulfield track – which could beat Royal Symphony.
It is also worth noting that Royal Symphony stays at 1400m and trainer Tony McEvoy has made it clear the Guineas on October 14 is his clear mission and his grand final.
"No-one seems to be giving Eclair Sunshine a hope, but I certainly do," Stokes said.
"Having said that, we will probably need Royal Symphony to have bad luck to be beating him.
"Who knows though, Caulfield is a very different track and that could throw a spanner in the works for the favourite.
"All I can say is I am extremely happy with my horse and he has trained up really well for this race.
"If Royal Symphony wasn't in the field I'd be pretty confident (about winning)."
Eclair Sunshine had a spin around Caulfield on Tuesday and race jockey Regan Bayliss was pleased with his work.
Stokes believes the penny is only now starting to drop for the gelding who was a bit of a handful earlier in his career.
Providing he runs well on Sunday, Stokes indicated it will be all systems go for the $2m Caulfield Guineas.
"From day one I thought this horse had really good ability and was really exciting, but early on he was too eager to please and overdid things a bit," Stokes said.
"He did a few things wrong again in the race the other day but he is learning and improving all the time.
"From a good gate on Sunday I'd expect us to be one pair or two pairs back.
"We will just have to hope Royal Symphony has a bit of bad luck back in the field."
Stokes has been a regular visitor to Melbourne during the spring in recent years and has had plenty of success, including with Hucklebuck who won the 2014 Group I Emirates Stakes.
Éclair Sunshine is $18 in Sportsbet's Caulfield Guineas market and is $26 with Ladbrokes.
