The colts have a lot of ground to make up on the fillies in their three-year-old season.

That’s the view of leading trainer Peter Moody ahead of three-year-old colt Better Land’s first attempt at stakes racing in Saturday’s Listed The Rosebud (1200m) at Randwick.

“The two-year-old form suggests the colts are a fair way off the fillies,” Moody said.

Fillies claimed four of Australia’s five Group One races for two-year-olds last season with Mossfun, Peggy Jean and Go Indy Go claiming Sydney’s juvenile triple crown of the Golden Slipper, ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes and Champagne Stakes respectively.

Earthquake won the Blue Diamond with Almalad the only colt to claim a two-year-old Group One race in 2013/14 when he took out the JJ Atkins (1600m) during the Brisbane winter carnival.

The Gai Waterhouse-trained Nayeli is the only filly in The Rosebud but punters have backed her from $3.40 into $3 second favourite behind the Godolphin runner Sarajevo.

Better Land has had one start for a comfortable win at Sale in April before Moody sent him to Queensland for a winter spell.

A son of Shamardal, Better Land prepared for his return to racing with a trial win on good ground at Doomben on July 22.

Moody is hopeful, rather than expectant, that Better Land can measure up to his competition in Saturday’s $100,000 event, which the trainer said placed him in the same position as many of his counterparts with a promising three-year-old.

“Anyone with a three-year-old colt that has won a maiden anywhere in Australia would be optimistic enough to think that they would be able to step up,” Moody said.

“He trialled well but he’s going from a maiden to a stakes race at his second start.”

Better Land is a son of the former brilliant two-year-old Amelia’s Dream, who won by nine lengths on debut at Canterbury before a leg injury ended her career after she blitzed her opposition in the Group Two Silver Slipper.