But when it comes to their respective shots at the Cox Plate, Lees can see encouraging parallels.

Mugatoo, at $19 with the TAB on Friday, will be an outsider for Saturday's 100^th running of the 2040-metre weight-for-age championship at Moonee Valley.

A six-year-old import, the gelding steps back in distance after giving Lees a first Newcastle Cup (2300m) and running a neck second in The Metropolitan (2400m).

Mugatoo will be Lees' third runner in the Cox Plate after three-time group 1 winners Samantha Miss (2008) and Lucia Valentina (2016).

Samantha Miss, with just 47.5 kilograms and stepping up in distance, finished just over a length away in third after starting favourite following her sweep of the Sydney fillies features.

Lucia Valentina was retired after finishing well behind the great Winx and pulling up lame. That was the second of Winx's record four consecutive Cox Plate wins, which were followed last year by the domination of Japanese star Lys Gracieux.

Like when Samantha Miss made the leap, Lees was unsure how his hope would measure up on Saturday but he was confident the timing was again right.

"I didn't know where we stood with her," Lees said.

"She was a three-year-old coming out of fillies races taking on older horses, but it was a little similar in that it wasn't a classic year either. So it was the right year to attempt something like that.

"It's an open race this year. I reckon very open. With all due respects, it's not as strong as the last five years when you've had Winx dominating then that top mare from Japan.

"I can't fault him. He's going really well and he'll run well, but we'll find out if he's got the class for a Cox Plate."

Lees believed the addition of three-year-old Grandslam to the race would help Mugatoo, which has shown an impressive turn of foot late in races with early speed. That likelihood increased on Friday when Buckhurst joined the race following the scratching of Magic Wand.

"With a three-year-old in the race it probably generates a bit of tempo," he said. "It led a Caulfield Guineas, so with no weight on its back, you'd expect it to be up there."

He also expected predicted rain on Saturday to help Mugatoo, which has four wins and a second from seven attempts on soft ground.

Also on the program, Lees-trained Chief Ironside ($6.50) is expected to appreciate a more forgiving track in the Crystal Mile after feeling a firm Caulfield surface when sixth in the Toorak Handicap.

Chief Ironside took out the Crystal Mile last year when trained by David Menuisier.

"He profiles well on this kind of track so I'm looking forward to it," Lees said.

Lees will not be making the trip to Melbourne this year given the COVID-19 restrictions. Travelling foreman Cameren Swan is looking after the Lees team for the spring carnival.

Asked if the situation made it harder for him to prepare the horses, Lees said: "Not greatly, just with technology these days, seeing all the gallops and getting his weight and knowing what he's doing.

"It's not ideal but it's not as difficult as it would be in other times, and I'm not alone. We're all in a similar boat."

AAP reports: Kris Lees can remember exactly where he was when Bonecrusher and Our Waverley Star elevated the Cox Plate into racing folklore with their tooth-and-nail battle down the Moonee Valley straight.

It was 1986 and almost 20 years before Lees would begin training his own stable of horses at Newcastle.

"I was watching that at Beaumont Park dog track, which doesn't even exist now," Lees said.

"(I remember) right back to Kingston Town. I can go a fair way back. I haven't missed many."

Lees came closest to getting his hands on a coveted Cox Plate trophy when brilliant filly Samantha Miss finished third behind Maldivian and Zipping in the 2008 renewal.

On Saturday, he will get another throw at the stumps when Mugatoo takes his place in the elite 14-horse field.

Lees was considering a Caulfield Cup start but after Mugatoo finished runner-up to Mirage Dancer in the Metropolitan Handicap, he became convinced the Cox Plate was the right race.

"I thought the three weeks coming back to 2000 metres was better than two weeks staying at 2400. That was my reasoning," Lees said.

"There wasn't a lot in it. They're both very hard to win."

Mugatoo has been in Melbourne for two weeks and has galloped twice at Moonee Valley.

Race jockey John Allen has been aboard both times and the reports have been positive.

The six-year-old will be stepping up to weight-for-age level for the first time on Saturday and if the forecast rain arrives, he has solid form on wet ground.

"It's a big jump from Newcastle Cups and Metrops but I am pretty sure it's not a classic year," Lees said.

"There are no Winxs or that filly last year from Japan (Lys Gracieux), but we'll see."

Lees will also have Chief Ironside chasing back-to-back wins in the Crystal Mile and says he is on target to defend his crown, provided the track doesn't become heavy.