Tatura horseman Linc Sullivan will be a long way from Flemington racecourse when his bid for a maiden city winner begins on Saturday.

Sullivan will be marshalling his Nagambie Football Club troops in a match against Avenel when Road Warrior steps out in the second heat of the All Victorian Sprint Series (1100m).

Sullivan has enlisted his father, fellow Tatura trainer Peter Sullivan, to saddle Road Warrior in the biggest race of the 34-year-old’s career.

“I’ll probably listen to it on the radio but I hope the players can make missing Road Warrior’s race worth it with a win,” the younger Sullivan said.

Road Warrior will be Sullivan’s eighth runner since he got his trainer’s licence in 2012 after spending a decade working at stud farms in Australia and overseas.

The stakes-placed galloper’s owners sent Road Warrior to Sullivan after he had success with another of their horses late last year.

“The other horse, Domesday Warrior, had barrier issues and we managed to get him right and win with him so the owners were pretty happy with me and sent Road Warrior across,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan’s business focuses on breaking in and pre-training horses for other stables but he was happy to have a go at ending Road Warrior’s 18-month drought.

Road Warrior has been stakes placed twice during his time out of the winner’s circle but Sullivan hopes the shift to Tatura can produce a win in his winter campaign.

“I’m not sure he’ll get back to where he was at but he’s well in himself and he seems sound and happy,” he said.

“These old horses can be a bit cunning as they get older but a change of scenery might have helped him.”

Road Warrior is an $81 chance with most expecting the specialist sprinters to be too sharp for the gelding who has won at distances up to 1800m.

Sullivan said Road Warrior’s performance on Saturday would determine whether he continues in the All Victorian Sprint Series or switches to Winter Championship races over more ground.