David Vandyke insists enough can be taken out of Prince Cheri’s unfulfilled and injury-hit autumn to rate the imported galloper among the leading chances in the $200,000 Scone Cup.

A back injury stopped Prince Cheri from turning spring potential into autumn results but Vandyke expects the ex-French horse can salvage something out of his return to racing, starting on Friday.

Vandyke had every reason to be optimistic about Prince Cheri figuring somewhere during the Sydney carnival.

And his plans seemed on track after the horse turned in an eye-catching first-run behind Boban and It’s A Dundeel in the Chipping Norton Stakes.

But they soon came undone after the Sky High Stakes.

“He had an issue, we’ve managed him through it and he’s good now,” Vandyke said.

“In the Sky High he sweated up and looked a bit agitated before the race and whether it happened in the run or before I don’t know but he seemed fine going into that race.

“But he certainly came out of it with a back complaint.”

Prince Cheri has carried a mini boom since he made a winning Australian debut at Canterbury in March last year.

The five-year-old won two of his first three spring starts with a victory in the Kingston Town Stakes earning him favouritism for the Group One Metropolitan in which he finished sixth.

“I think on his best form he will be hard to beat at Scone,” Vandyke said.

“And even on his form which shows him 3.4 (lengths) behind Boban and It’s A Dundeel, he would certainly give this a shake.”

Prince Cheri will be one of two Scone runners for Vandyke as the trainer heads further north to watch the Nick Moraitis-owned Arabian Gold have her Brisbane lead-up run to the Queensland Oaks.

He will start Husson Choice in a Scone Cup day support race.

“He’s quite a nice horse. Nick Moraitis owns him and hopefully we can get a result for Nick on Friday and Saturday,” Vandyke said.