Trainer Stephen Farley has drawn inspiration from the recent victory by 12-year-old Mustard as he chases a Summer Cup win with Brave Lancer.Farley, who is based at Wyong on the NSW Central Coast, will start the nine-year-old in the Group Three Summer Cup (2400m) at Randwick on Boxing Day.He watched with interest as Mustard, who is prepared by John McNair at nearby Gosford, scored at the same track a week ago and said Brave Lancer suddenly didn't seem so old."He was considered a veteran but he's

Trainer Stephen Farley has drawn inspiration from the recent victory by 12-year-old Mustard as he chases a Summer Cup win with Brave Lancer.

Farley, who is based at Wyong on the NSW Central Coast, will start the nine-year-old in the Group Three Summer Cup (2400m) at Randwick on Boxing Day.

He watched with interest as Mustard, who is prepared by John McNair at nearby Gosford, scored at the same track a week ago and said Brave Lancer suddenly didn't seem so old.

"He was considered a veteran but he's not now after Mustard," Farley said.

"It was great to see an older horse winning like that."

Brave Lancer has had three runs this preparation over shorter distances and comes into the Summer Cup after being unplaced behind Zazabeau over 2000 metres at Rosehill on December 5.

"He's coming along very well and is probably up to a distance now that he's been looking for," Farley said.

"His runs have been good but I would have liked him to have hit the line a bit better last start.

"But he was backing up after a week and he was a bit flat, so that's why we've given him three weeks going into this run."

Rain is forecast on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and half of Brave Lancer's 10 career wins have been on rain-affected going.

"A bit of rain would certainly help his chances," Farley said.

"He's down in the weights now which is a big bonus, he's been carrying a bit of weight recently."

The gelding will carry 54.5kg, 3.5kg less than topweight Rockwood.

Earlier in his career Brave Lancer was touted a Melbourne Cup horse by then-trainer Neville McBurney, an astute judge of stayers, and the gelding narrowly failed to qualify for the 2005 race when he was runner-up to On A Jeune in the 2005 Geelong Cup.

But a training accident and McBurney's decision to go into semi-retirement on the Gold Coast put the gelding's future in doubt.

Brave Lancer ended up with Farley, McBurney's former neighbour.

"He's been a very good horse to me and I've learned a lot about training horses," Farley said.

"He's a tough old bugger and you can put more work into him than others."

Brave Lancer gave Farley his first Saturday city winner when he defeated subsequent Group One winner Vision And Power over 2000 metres at Rosehill in August last year.

He will bring up a career milestone in the Summer Cup which will be his 50th start.