Racing can be a fickle game.

The connections of Ain’Tnodeeldun looked to have a horse of the future after the then three-year-old completed a winning hat-trick with victory at Flemington during Melbourne Cup week.

Move forward two years, and Ain’tnodeeldun will be lining up for just his sixth start since that November 2020 outing when he runs in the McKellar Mile (1600m) at Ballarat on Saturday.

A serious hip injury resulted in Aint’nodeeldun not racing for 16 months while the now gelding required a wind operation at the end of his latest preparation.

That preparation after 16 months out, saw Ain’tnodeeldun head to the races on four occasions, with a best finish a second at Caulfield in April before his campaign ended after finishing rearwards in the Wagga Cup.

It was following that run Ain’tnodeeldun required a wind operation before he resumed, finishing seventh at Flemington on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Brad Taylor, racing manager for trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman, said the stable was happy with how Ain’tnodeeldun resumed at Flemington.

“He lacked a bit of fitness there, but he was a bit unlucky.” Taylor said.

“If he had got a clear run in the straight, he probably would have been run third or fourth and we would have been extremely happy.

“He’s come on from that and his fitness is improved.

“He’s a big, gross horse that takes a bit of racing to get fully fit, but if he’s competitive here on Saturday he could go to a race like the Werribee Cup and go well in that.”

Taylor said while expectations had been high for Ain’tnodeeldun as a three-year-old, the stable had lowered those since, and it is all about seeing him getting back into winning form.

“He’s a gelding now and it’s all about accumulating prize money for the owners and at this time of the year for horses like him, there is plenty of options,” Taylor said.