Absent Friends' Metropolitan Handicap credentials go on the line in Saturday's Colin Stephen Quality at Randwick.The Group Three race is run over 2400 metres, the same distance as Saturday week's Metropolitan Handicap and the winner is exempt from a ballot for the Metropolitan.Absent Friends comes into the Colin Stephen off a fourth to Ready To Lift in the Group Three Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) on September 12.The Dehere gelding struck interference in the straight and never had the chance to s

Absent Friends' Metropolitan Handicap credentials go on the line in Saturday's Colin Stephen Quality at Randwick.

The Group Three race is run over 2400 metres, the same distance as Saturday week's Metropolitan Handicap and the winner is exempt from a ballot for the Metropolitan.

Absent Friends comes into the Colin Stephen off a fourth to Ready To Lift in the Group Three Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) on September 12.

The Dehere gelding struck interference in the straight and never had the chance to show the type of blistering finish of which he is capable.

First-up from a 14-week spell, Absent Friends came from last to defeat Cousin Wal by a long neck over 1500 metres on August 29.

The five-year-old has not won beyond 1600 metres but trainer Gary Portelli has always believed he has the makings of a stayer and is confident he will run well Saturday.

"He's done nicely since the run and he'll be in the finish," Portelli said.

"He was very unlucky not to run a place last start.

"He got into a couple of difficult positions in the straight. He was a bit timid going through them, you could see him looking."

Nathan Berry, who rode him to victory the start before, had Absent Friends at the back of the field rounding the turn and opted to go for an inside run.

"We would have been better off going around them but that was probably the only way through at the time," Portelli said.

"If he got the run through it would have been looked at as a great ride."

TAB Sportsbet has Absent Friends at $18 for the Metropolitan which is headed by the Lee Freedman-trained Speed Gifted ($4.60).

Speed Gifted ran fourth in Saturday's Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield won by Red Lord with trainer Lee Freedman yet to decide whether to bring him to Sydney or try to qualify him for the Caulfield Cup via another race in Melbourne.