Ocean Beyond will wear a set of earmuffs in the parade ring ahead of running in the Ecycle Solutions Trophy at Flemington.

Warrnambool trainer Daniel Bowman thought he had ticked all the boxes when he took previously unbeaten three-year-old Ocean Beyond to Adelaide for his first-up assignment.

What Bowman had not counted on was the crowd at Morphettville ahead of the Tobin Bronze Stakes, but the trainer has come up with a plan when Ocean Beyond runs in the Ecycle Solutions Trophy (1100m) at Flemington on Saturday.

Ocean Beyond will wear the ear-muffs in the parade ring on Saturday which will be removed when the gelding races.

A winner at his first two starts at Geelong and then in Listed company at The Valley last November, Ocean Beyond finished seventh to Beau Rossa at Morphettville on May 1.

“He melted a bit pre-race in the mounting yard which was something we didn’t take into account leading up to the race,” Bowman said.

“He had never been in front of a crowd before and he got overwhelmed in the mounting yard.

“We’ve put the red earmuffs on him to hopefully keep him relaxed pre-race and hopefully he handles the straight.”

Bowman said Ocean Beyond had worked well since returning home and was ready to run well.

He said Saturday’s race on the straight course was all about educating him for the future.

“If he finds his form and handles the (straight) track, a race like this is at his mercy but there’s just that little question mark after his last start,” Bowman said.

“He’s got to keeping going around and hone his craft and get racing under his belt as we want to run him in better races eventually.

“He’s still quite mentally immature and can do a bit wrong pre-race, so we’ll keep him going around and when we’re happy, we’ll give him a freshen up and get him ready for the spring.”

Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au