Trainer John McArdle is concerned Absolute Faith might be caught short on fitness for the 1700 metres of Sunday's Lord Stakes at Caulfield.The four-year-old has had a nine-week break since running seventh to Eraset in the Sale Cup (1600m) on October 24."I probably would have preferred it to be 1500 or 1600 metres. If the last 100 metres gets her, then so be it," he said.McArdle said he was preparing Absolute Faith for his home town Cup, the Listed $300,000 Mornington Cup (2400m) on February 16,

Trainer John McArdle is concerned Absolute Faith might be caught short on fitness for the 1700 metres of Sunday's Lord Stakes at Caulfield.

The four-year-old has had a nine-week break since running seventh to Eraset in the Sale Cup (1600m) on October 24.

"I probably would have preferred it to be 1500 or 1600 metres. If the last 100 metres gets her, then so be it," he said.

McArdle said he was preparing Absolute Faith for his home town Cup, the Listed $300,000 Mornington Cup (2400m) on February 16, and the Group Two $400,000 Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville on March 14.

"She's run third in a 2000-metre Group One race and fourth in an Oaks so she can stay," McArdle, referring to Absolute Faith's third to Faint Perfume in the Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill and fourth to Once Were Wild in the AJC Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick, both in April, said.

"She's well, her condition may give out but I think she'll run a nice race.

"She's a strange horse. The only time she hasn't been ultra-consistent and finished in the first three or four has been in the spring.

"She had two runs as a spring three-year-old and just didn't switch on so we turned her out and she became Group One-performed the following autumn.

"Her runs this spring were the same. She seemed fine but just never seemed to switch on.

"So we're hoping summer and autumn is her time of the year."

Apprentice Jake Noonan will ride Absolute Faith for the first time in a race in the Lord which is a non-claiming event.

Betting on the Lord is dominated by another mare, the Mick Price-trained Aloha who is after a hat-trick following easy wins at Moonee Valley over 1600m and Flemington over 1730m.

Aloha is $1.50 favourite with TAB Sportsbet ahead of Lakedro at $6.50 with 2008 Group One Toorak Handicap runner-up Rockwood at $7 and Wind Shear at $8.

Absolute Faith is at $26.