A stud career may be on the horizon for Daunting Lad but trainer Bill Naoum's immediate focus will be on his bid to maintain his impressive first-up strike rate in the Laminex Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday.The semi-retired Naoum is hoping to syndicate Daunting Lad to stand at stud next season after he has one last shot at trying to win an elusive Group One race with the seven-year-old next winter.Naoum is confident Daunting Lad, who has won three times and been placed on four other occasion

A stud career may be on the horizon for Daunting Lad but trainer Bill Naoum's immediate focus will be on his bid to maintain his impressive first-up strike rate in the Laminex Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

The semi-retired Naoum is hoping to syndicate Daunting Lad to stand at stud next season after he has one last shot at trying to win an elusive Group One race with the seven-year-old next winter.

Naoum is confident Daunting Lad, who has won three times and been placed on four other occasions from eight starts first-up, will acquit himself well in Saturday's 1000-metre sprint.

"I was very confident before we got the rain on Wednesday night and if the track dries out, which I expect, then he'll be hard to beat," Naoum said.

"He's a brilliant horse fresh."

Daunting Lad hasn't raced since finishing third to Coffs Harbour sprinter Nuclear Medicine in the Group Three Healy Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm on June 21.

Naoum is aiming Daunting Lad at the Doomben summer series which starts in December.

"He'll have a couple of starts and a barrier trial to prepare for the summer races then he'll come back for the winter races next year," Naoum said.

"He's had a good break since his last run and he's been in work a couple of months so I'm expecting him to race well."

Naoum has been keen to win a Group One race with Daunting Lad to bolster his service fee at stud when he's eventually syndicated as a stallion for the next breeding season.

"This will be his last year before he goes to stud," Naoum said.

"We've had a few offers to stand him at stud in Queensland and one from interstate but we wanted to win a Group One with him so we kept him racing.

"We're running out of time to win a Group One now but he'll probably get his last chance in the winter carnival next year."

Daunting Lad was at the end of a form slump when he beat just one runner home in last year's Stradbroke Handicap won by Sniper's Bullet.

"I tried using a tongue tie on him for the first time in the Stradbroke and he absolutely resented it," Naoum said.

Daunting Lad also had problems with his tongue when he tailed off in last place in the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick and Group Three Newmarket Handicap (1400m) at Newcastle in the autumn.

Meanwhile, trainer Les Kelly has warned that Black Ink may be short of a run when he clashes with Daunting Lad.

Kelly has not given eight-year-old Black Ink a barrier trial to prepare for his first run since finishing second to Victory Code over 1350 metres at Doomben on July 26.

Kelly said Black Ink, who finished only two lengths from the winner Mr Baritone when sixth in the Group One Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm in June, was showing no signs his racing days were numbered.

"He's getting a little older now but he's still keen to race," he said.

"The Stradbroke was one of his best runs for a long time and there's no thoughts of retiring him yet."

Black Ink has not won since the Listed Falvelon Quality (1200m) at Doomben in March 2006.