Two-time group 1-placed mare Moonlight Maid is facing a light spring campaign.
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Ballarat trainer Mitch Freedman is planning to give the four-year-old just a handful of starts before preparing her for the Sydney autumn carnival.
He believes rain-affected tracks would make Sydney an ideal target.
Moonlight Maid will take a key step on the way to a return to racing with her first jump-out on Tuesday.
Freedman said he was leaning towards a few runs early in the spring and then giving her a good break.
He said although Moonlight Maid was nominated for the $5m Cox Plate, 2040m, at the Valley on October 24, it was "highly unlikely" she would head down that path.
Moonlight Maid was among the best three-year-old fillies last season.
She finished third in the VIctoria Oaks after winning the group 2 Edwards Manifold Stakes and running second in the Moonee Valley Vase.
The daughter of Puissance de Lune returned in the autumn to finish second in the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide.
Moonlight Maid is one of three Ballarat-trained entries for the Cox Plate, joining the Archie Alexander-prepared Gamay and Michelle Payne's English import Cape Victory.
Gamay is also a 4yo mare.
She has had just the six starts for two wins. The daughter of Pierro won her maiden on the Ballarat synthetic track and two runs ago in October took out the group 3 Ethereal Stakes.
Gamay rounded out her spring with a forward-running fifth in the Victoria Oaks.
Cape Victory had its first start for Payne at Sandown Hillside on Wednesday --- finishing unplaced over 1300m.
The 5yo entire won two of nine starts overseas and was placed five times, with his latest victory being at Musselburgh in September.
Cape Victory last raced at York in October and has been with Payne since late last year.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace training partnership have nominated nine gallopers for the Cox Plate, but none are listed as being based at their Ballarat training complex.
BURRUMBEET will have jumps trials on Friday.
Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club has programmed a steeple, 2800m, and 0-116 hurdles over 2400m and 2800m.
The trials come with Ballarat Turf Club in countdown mode to its all-jumps race day on Sunday, August 23.
The BTC will lead into that meeting with a meeting on its all-weather synthetic track on Monday.
The club has received 376 nominations for the eight races programmed.
