Prolific winner Tyzone can prove he is more than just a good country horse when he steps out at Ipswich.
Tyzone will be having his first start in black-type company in the Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) on Saturday.
The gelding has mostly been trained at Tolga by Roy Chillemi and is generally regarded as the best sprinter to come out of Far North Queensland in decades.
Tyzone won at Doomben for trainer Laurie Mayfield-Smith last year before returning north for a crack at the Cleveland Bay Handicap at Townsville where he was unplaced under a big weight.
He joined the Toby Edmonds stable at the Gold Coast in May and has won both his starts since.
The latest was a strong win in a Benchmark 85 handicap at Doomben on May 26 when he stormed home from well back in the field.
Edmonds has resisted the temptation to run Tyzone in races such as the Group Two Moreton Cup feeling the Eye Liner was an ideal race for him.
“Tyzone is a good horse and not many win 13 of 21 starts in this day and age,” Edmonds said.
“But it is important to place him properly and this will be a good test. We might also look at the Ramornie Handicap for him.”
Tyzone, to be ridden by premier Brisbane jockey Jeff Lloyd, is the equal favourite with the Peter Gelagotis-trained Moss ‘N’ Dale for the Eye Liner but he faces a stiff task against Group One winner Lucky Hussler and six other horses who are stakes winners.
He gets a seven-kilo advantage from the Darren Weir-trained Lucky Hussler who is topweight with 61kg and remained a $7 chance on Friday.