The Group 1 Cups dream for King Pedro has been all but extinguished for this season, though connections are looking to salvage some value from the promising stayer’s spring campaign in his upcoming starts.

A triumphant victor of the Grafton Cup (2350m) in July, King Pedro was initially being aimed at The Metropolitan. However, an unfortunate bout of sickness derailed these carefully laid plans.

He will now commence his campaign in the Group 2 Hill Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill on Saturday. While still nominated for the Melbourne Cup (3200m), co-trainer Tom Charlton believes the race will arrive too soon for the horse.

“Realistically, the autumn is probably going to be his time,” Charlton stated. “We left him in (the Melbourne Cup), but it was just in case. Unfortunately, he was due to follow a ‘Metrop’ path, but he got sick at the wrong time. This is short of his best and a bit off-plan, but it’s the only race to get him going in.”

While Metropolitan aspirations have been torpedoed, King Pedro possesses residual fitness from his winter preparation and has pleased the stable since returning to work.

The reigning champion Lindermann presents as the primary threat in the Hill Stakes and is the $1.90 favourite. However, Charlton expects King Pedro, a $15 outsider, to be competitive.

“I’ll be interested to see how he runs,” he commented. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run a good race. If the best Lindermann comes he’s obviously pretty effective and hard to beat. This weekend will tell us a lot.”

If King Pedro delivers a strong performance, a potential next start could be the Rosehill Gold Cup (2000m) at Randwick on October 31.

Stablemates Starzintheireyes and Mister Rizz were both nominated for the Hill Stakes but were not among the acceptors. Both horses have been paid up for the Kia Ora Bloodlines To Headlines Handicap (2000m) on the undercard.

Charlton indicated that Mister Rizz is set to start from barrier three. The team is currently debating whether Starzintheireyes will run from the widest gate, 13, or be pointed towards the Group 3 Coongy Handicap (2000m) at Caulfield on Wednesday.

“‘Starz’ could have the option of the Coongy in Melbourne, but we’ll just have a think,” Charlton concluded. Check out the latest online bookmakers for betting markets for the race.