Louth Park trainer Darren Elder said former group 1 competitor Bright Energy would need the run when he returns from a break for a rare appearance at Newcastle Paceway on Friday night.
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A two-time group 3 winner at Menangle, Bright Energy was last at his past three starts - the most recent on June 11 - on that track while with top trainer Belinda McCarthy.
Before that, Bright Energy, which is owned and was bred by Elder's brother, Michael, was back at Louth Park for an Inter Dominion campaign.
Darren guided him to a win and two placings at Menangle, securing an ID spot. His best effort in the series was a sixth at Newcastle on December 5.
Now back with Elder, he returned to Newcastle Paceway last Wednesday week for a qualifying trial, where he clocked 1:57:3. Elder was not carrying high expectations into his first-up race.
"It was a pretty soft trial," Elder said. "We've got to start off somewhere, so we start tomorrow night.
"We had him going pretty good around Inter Dominion time and then he went back down there and he just didn't fire, so they sent him back to see what he can do over the next couple of starts.
"Once we give him a run or two, he'll be right I reckon.
"He's happy in himself. We've just got to hope he puts his foot forward now."
No problems were found by vets after his recent failures and Elder wasn't sure of the reason behind the form slump.
"He just didn't fire, so we gave him a bit of a freshen up," he said. "We're pretty happy with him but he's going to need the run obviously, after having only the one trial.
"We're hoping. It's just a long way back to get back to where he was."
Bright Energy overcame a tendon injury early in his career to win 16 races and $236,202 in 62 starts.
Elder's son and main driver, Brad, will partner Melanie Elder-trained Ashark on Friday night. Michael Formosa will guide Bright Energy.
"We won't drive him for his speed tomorrow night. I'm not sure what we'll do there yet," Darren said.
"Brad is driving Ashark and he's probably a little bit more advanced than Bright Energy at the moment."
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Craig Kerry
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
