After hitting the track with stable mate (Lord) Van Percy, Side Glance walked, trotted and lightly cantered a circuit of the track before being asked for a more serious gallop from the 1400m, extending into the straight and working strongly through the line.
“I was very happy with him, he just had a nice gallop and stretched out down the straight,” Masterson said.
“We’ll just tick him over now until Saturday.”
Masterson, who accompanied the seven-year-old to Melbourne last year, believes his form in the past 12 months is similar to what preceded his Australian campaign last year, when he targeted the Sportingbet Cox Plate.
Although the son of Passing Glance has failed to return to the winners’ stall since his Mackinnon success, connections have been buoyed by Group 1 placings in July’s United Nations Stakes (2200m) and the Arlington Millions (2000m) in August.
“He’s come here in the same sort of form that he did last year,” Masterson said.
“He was third in the Arlington Million last year and he was third again this year and he put in a similar sort of run in the World Cup in Dubai earlier in the year.
“We actually managed to stick to similar feed this year whereas we had to change it when we came down last year so I’m very happy with him.”
Saturday’s race, which has also attracted entries from 11 individual Group 1 winners, will see Side Glance renew his successful association with star UK jockey Jamie Spencer.
Others to gallop impressively at Werribee this morning included Godolphin’s Contributer, ridden by James McDonald, and Lindsay Park import Orator, partnered in his work by Stephen Baster.
Overseen by John O’Shea, Wolferton Handicap (2000m) winner Contributer just shaded Orator with the pair likely to kick off their respective Australian careers in support races during the Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup Carnival.