Away from the bustle of Flemington during Melbourne Cup week, Colin Scott has been putting the finishing touches to the preparation of his best horse.

Almost his only horse.

A horse who has been a lesson in patience. And the benefit of it.

Scott goes to Saturday’s $1 million Emirates Stakes at Flemington with Speediness, an $18,000 yearling who has long promised to reach the highest of heights.

For Scott, it has been an at-times frustrating journey.

Early in his career, Speediness showed flashes of brilliance but he struggled to cope with the demands of racing, often succumbing to viruses and the effects of firm tracks.

So Scott would change plan, or pull up stumps and start over.

“But patience costs nothing, you’ve just got to have it,” Scott said.

“This time in, mentally and physically, he’s finally put it all together.”

Speediness is rated among the top fancies for the Emirates and comes into the 1600m race off a narrow second to Toydini at Moonee Valley.

Before that he posted successive fourths in Group One races at Caulfield and those efforts followed a barnstorming first-up Flemington victory.

He meets Toydini two kilos better at the weights on Saturday and Scott feels, in hindsight, the horse may have been a gallop short going into his last start.

“They’ll say we got the easier run from a good barrier but hopefully we’ll get that again,” he said.

“And with the pull in the weights and a track we’re certainly much better suited by, you can’t be confident in these races but I couldn’t be happier with the horse going forward.

“He’s due. He’s due a turn of luck. It would be a nice race to get all the luck in.”

A small-time Caulfield trainer, Scott has only three horses currently in work.

So far, Speediness has won $650,000 in 25 starts.

A win on Saturday would almost double his bank balance.

For a trainer like Scott, a horse like Speediness is career-defining. Maybe even a meal ticket.

But Scott will never see him like that.

“He’s like one of my kids, he really is,” he said.

“I’ve had him since he was a baby so I’m just proud of him doing what he’s doing now.

“To have a horse of his calibre, I know people with 35 horses in work that haven’t got one anywhere near as good as him.

“I’m under no illusions that the chances of me getting another one as good as him are pretty slim so I’m just enjoying the ride.”