David Hayes predicted more Group One wins ahead for his stable this spring after he opened his account for the season with Irish Lights in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield.Hayes, who this week sacked his stable rider Craig Williams, has struggled to put his mark on the spring but rebounded from a winless Caulfield Guineas day with his best three-year-old sprinter-miler scoring in the 1600m feature on Wednesday.Ridden by Glen Boss, Irish Lights was in an unfamiliar role sitting second outside th

David Hayes predicted more Group One wins ahead for his stable this spring after he opened his account for the season with Irish Lights in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield.

Hayes, who this week sacked his stable rider Craig Williams, has struggled to put his mark on the spring but rebounded from a winless Caulfield Guineas day with his best three-year-old sprinter-miler scoring in the 1600m feature on Wednesday.

Ridden by Glen Boss, Irish Lights was in an unfamiliar role sitting second outside the leader Fomalite before dashing 1-1/2 lengths clear 150 metres from home.

Melito finished strongly, pegging the winning margin back to a long neck with the Bart Cummings-trained Faint Perfume a short neck away third, but Boss said Irish Lights was unextended.

"She was just waiting for the opposition in the straight," Boss said.

Irish Lights is entered for the VRC Oaks but Hayes said she was unlikely to target the Classic and follow the same path as his other Thousand Guineas winner Miss Finland who completed the double in 2006.

Hayes said Miss Finland was a top-class filly with the arsenal to fire over more distances whereas Irish Lights appealed as a specialist miler.

The Group One Myer Classic (1600m) for fillies and mares on Derby Day will be her next run while her autumn campaign will include the Australian Guineas and the Doncaster Mile.

Hayes said Irish Lights, who normally races off the pace, had her brilliance dulled on Wednesday as she raced forward without cover on a windy day.

"She raced against her pattern and was still able to win and that's pretty exciting," Hayes said.

"She is more explosive if she gets cover and if she gets it in the Myer Classic you will see a superstar."

Hayes went in to Thousand Guineas day in third place on the Melbourne trainers' premiership with just nine wins for the season and believes Irish Lights may have provided the turning point for the stable.

While Hayes doesn't have a Caulfield Cup runner on Saturday and doesn't expect to play a hand in the Cox Plate or the Melbourne Cup, he believes he is well equipped to make an impact on other Group One features.

"Nicconi is our number one sprinter-miler, Irish Lights is my best three-year-old for speed, Extra Zero is my best three-year-old for staying and Eagle Falls is a top progressive sprinter," Hayes said.

"Without having headline acts we are not too bad."