Sir Lucan will be aiming to defend his title in the Winter Cup (2400m), though the key question this year will be his fitness, with a much lighter preparation compared to his winning campaign twelve months ago.

In 2023, the gelding struck form at his fourth run from a spell to take out the Listed feature. This Saturday, however, he enters the race second-up following a below-par effort in the Lord Mayors Cup (2000m), where he dropped out to last and never figured in the finish.

“He just got too far back the other day,” said co-trainer Adrian Bott.

“He can win a race of that quality at this time of year. But he is only second-up so he will probably improve again.”

Sir Lucan has shown he can fire second-up, having won twice in that scenario, and he was runner-up in the 2024 Gosford Cup after a modest return at Randwick.

If successful, he will join a rare group of horses to have won the Winter Cup on multiple occasions, a feat achieved only by Destiny’s Kiss in 2013 and 2019, and Royal Bark back in 1962 and 1963.

Sir Lucan is one of two runners for the Waterhouse-Bott stable, with stablemate Bear On The Loose stepping up to the 2400m distance for the first time since arriving from Europe.

He went close to victory last start when second behind Glory Daze in a 2000m benchmark race at Randwick and looks ready for the rise in trip following three solid runs this prep.

“It was a good run last start. He is versatile in the conditions and should appreciate the trip,” Bott said.

“He is still lightly raced and still progressive.”

Fourteen runners are set to line up for the Winter Cup, headed by the Kris Lees-trained Changingoftheguard who shoulders top weight of 59kg. Sir Lucan has 57kg while Bear On The Loose is down on the limit at 53kg.

Changingoftheguard returns to racing at Rosehill for the first time since his runner-up effort in the Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) during the spring.