Ken and Kasey Keys have made a habit of producing competitive gallopers from their boutique stable, often finding one to fly the flag with aspirations of Group 1 success.

Rich Enuff was narrowly denied a major, and Soul Patch came close as well. More recently, the spotlight fell on Scheelite, who burst onto the scene with two impressive wins and was quickly touted as a top-level prospect.

However, Scheelite’s 2023 spring campaign didn’t go to plan. He finished seventh in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) before an 11th-place finish in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. The following autumn offered flashes of form but not enough to deliver a win.

A few solid performances, including a third at Flemington and a fourth over 1200m at Geelong, hinted at a return to form. It was that Geelong run that proved revealing.

“There’s been plenty of excuses each run, but now that he’s up against the big boys, he has to stand up and prove himself,” Kasey Keys said.

“After that Geelong run, where he looked like he was going to win 100 metres from home, he pulled-up terrible.

“We found he had a lactic acid issue, so we had to change his diet. That has made a big difference and hopefully we all on top of that now.”

Now back for his third start this preparation, Scheelite will contest Saturday’s Carlton Draught Benchmark 74 Handicap (1600m) at Bendigo.

The stable originally had eyes on the Listed Golden Mile (1600m) on the same program, but Scheelite didn’t make the cut in the order of entry.

His two runs this prep have been solid, finishing seventh at Flemington over 1100m and fifth at Moonee Valley on March 22.

“We put a line through Moonee Valley on the leaders’ track, but we thought his first-up run was a pass mark and hopefully we’ll see a bit more from him this time,” Keys said.