A heavy track at Eagle Farm is likely to deplete Gerald Ryan's team but as long as the races go ahead, the promising Lochiel will be there.The four-year-old has won his past two starts on heavy tracks at Doomben and showed his versatility earlier in the year with two wins on good tracks.He was also tested in stakes company and ran a creditable 2-1/4 lengths fifth to Stryker in the Group Three BTC Classic.Apprentice Mitchell Wood will take three kilograms off Lochiel's 57.5kg in the Patinack Farm

A heavy track at Eagle Farm is likely to deplete Gerald Ryan's team but as long as the races go ahead, the promising Lochiel will be there.

The four-year-old has won his past two starts on heavy tracks at Doomben and showed his versatility earlier in the year with two wins on good tracks.

He was also tested in stakes company and ran a creditable 2-1/4 lengths fifth to Stryker in the Group Three BTC Classic.

Apprentice Mitchell Wood will take three kilograms off Lochiel's 57.5kg in the Patinack Farm Class Six Handicap (1400m).

"I had him nominated for Sydney as well this weekend but decided to keep him up there for now," Ryan said.

"He is a very nice horse and I think he will end up in Sydney, he is up to the class.

"He showed good promise in the winter without too much luck.

"He will run on Saturday, he has won his past two on the heavy.

"He still doesn't look as if he handles it but has still won.

"And Mitchell will ride him well. He is a rising apprentice and rides a lot of winners around the Gold Coast."

Lochiel resides at Ryan's Murwillumbah stable which has not been too badly affected by the drenching northern NSW and Queensland have received.

Ryan has accepted with Helideck and Pyramids in the 1600m open handicap but already Helideck is unlikely with Eagle Farm a heavy (10) on Thursday.

"He really can't run on anything worse than a dead four so he doesn't look like running," Ryan said.

"I'll wait and see with Pyramids. He did run a close fourth on a wet track so he's not hopeless."

That fourth in a tight finish on October 16 was followed by another fourth and two thirds before he was unplaced from a wide barrier in the Lough Neagh Stakes (1350m) on October 18 won by Zero Rock.

Ryan will be in Sydney on Saturday to oversee his runners at Randwick but as well as keeping an eye on Brisbane, he has a keen interest in the Melbourne feature where Ego's Dare runs in the Listed LT Cleary Stakes (1200m).

Ryan took Ahdashim south last Saturday to snare the Standish Handicap and is hoping for the same result with Ego's Dare.

"I was going to run him last Saturday but he hadn't done as well on the trip down there as Ahdashim," Ryan said.

"He's picked up now and is back to his normal self and I think he will be hard to beat."