Bill Thurlow faces an important weekend with Old Fashioned and Makarov, two lightly raced horses who began their careers with victories.
Old Fashioned will contest Saturday's Gr.2 The Foxes @ Novara Park Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m) at Hastings.
The Proisir colt won at Wanganui on debut last season and has since completed two 1000m trials at Foxton.
He won the latest trial impressively against older horses, prompting Thurlow to say, "He has always showed us a fair bit and looks well above average."
Kelly Myers, who rode him in both trials and his debut, will again take the mount.
Old Fashioned is nominated for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), although Thurlow said Central Districts programming could complicate his route to Riccarton.
Matthew Goodson and Dianna Perron race the colt after he failed to meet a $150,000 reserve at the Ready to Run Sale.
Makarov, a first-up 1400m winner at Hastings last month, will run at Thurlow's home meeting in the Pioneer - P9091 (1650m) at Waverley.
Thurlow regards him as his leading chance and believes "He's a progressive horse who I think can go through the grades."