Highly-promising three-year-old Iamzeus kept his Australian Guineas chances alive despite being beaten by the older horses at Sandown on Wednesday.Jockey Craig Williams was impressed with the way the O'Reilly colt was able to make ground on a track favouring on-pace horses to finish third to Nine Tales in the Betfair Handicap (1200m).Iamzeus was having only his third race start and his first since the spring, and Williams believes that he will not only run the 1600 metres of the Guineas but get

Highly-promising three-year-old Iamzeus kept his Australian Guineas chances alive despite being beaten by the older horses at Sandown on Wednesday.

Jockey Craig Williams was impressed with the way the O'Reilly colt was able to make ground on a track favouring on-pace horses to finish third to Nine Tales in the Betfair Handicap (1200m).

Iamzeus was having only his third race start and his first since the spring, and Williams believes that he will not only run the 1600 metres of the Guineas but get even further.

"It was hard to make up ground today and he is one horse that has," Williams said.

"He he will come along pretty sharply from that run.

"He is a nice, big strong colt and the way he felt and raced he might even get further than the Guineas."

Trainer Danny O'Brien set Iamzeus for the Caulfield Guineas in the spring but when he didn't make the final field he spelled him.

He won his race debut on the Geelong ThoroughTrack in September and at his only other start finished second to Carbine Club Stakes winner Dr Doute's over 1430 metres at Flemington.

O'Brien struggled to find a suitable race to kick off Iamzeus' autumn campaign, finally settling to take on the older horses before stepping him up next start to the Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 21, two weeks before the Australian Guineas at Flemington.

Iamzeus was $18 for the Australian Guineas before Wednesday's autumn debut.

Another O'Brien-trained Guineas hope, Keano, will run in Saturday's 1600m Alister Clark Stakes at Moonee Valley.

Williams will ride Eagle Falls for David Hayes in the Alister Clark.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Dunn will take antibiotics for an infected hand which prevented him from filling all his engagements at Sandown.

Dunn was unable to continue riding after he was unplaced on two-year-old Pirouette and won the James Grice Handicap (2100m) on Lee Freedman's Tasmanian Oaks-bound filly Marchelle Belle.

Freedman expects Dunn, who forfeited the winning ride on Gatehouse to Michelle Payne in the Murray Handicap (1600m), will be fit to ride on Saturday.

Freedman said Marchelle Belle, who is unbeaten in four starts this campaign, was a potential VRC Oaks filly before she suffered a hairline fracture of her shoulder last spring.

"I think she has got a good future," Freedman said.

Freedman wasn't happy that Dunn today led on Marchelle Belle who was stepping up from 1600 metres to 2100 metres for the first time, but given the circumstances and the result he was impressed.

"If she pulls up all right we will get her down to Tassie for sure," Freedman said.

The Tasmanian Oaks (2100m) is at Launceston on February 22 and Freedman is also considering the Australasian Oaks (2000m) for Marchelle Belle in Adelaide.