Trainer John Wallace regards star four-year-old Shoot Out's first Moonee Valley start in Saturday's Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes as pivotal to his spring campaign.The Randwick Guineas and AJC Australian Derby winner is still in the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup but the Gold Coast trainer says he won't run in all three.If he handles Moonee Valley and performs well on Saturday against the likes of reigning Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy and last year's Dato Tan Chin Nam winner

Trainer John Wallace regards star four-year-old Shoot Out's first Moonee Valley start in Saturday's Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes as pivotal to his spring campaign.

The Randwick Guineas and AJC Australian Derby winner is still in the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup but the Gold Coast trainer says he won't run in all three.

If he handles Moonee Valley and performs well on Saturday against the likes of reigning Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy and last year's Dato Tan Chin Nam winner Whobegotyou it would all but lock in the Cox Plate for the High Chaparral gelding.

"We'll have a look at the place (Moonee Valley) and then we can work out where we're going from there on," Wallace, who took the horse to the Valley on Tuesday morning for his first look at the track, said.

Wallace is yet to rule out the Caulfield Cup for Shoot Out saying it is "still a chance".

"I would say he has more hope of going to the Cox Plate than the Melbourne Cup," he said.

Shoot Out goes into the Dato Tan Chin Nam fourth-up after wins in the Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) and Liston Stakes (1400m) before a tough effort for third to So You Think in the Memsie Stakes (1400m), all at Caulfield.

"He's going really good, he's ready to go so I'm sure he'll race well on Saturday," Wallace said.

Shoot Out split Whobegotyou (runner-up) and Typhoon Tracy (fourth) in the Memsie and Wallace was delighted with the way he finished off the race after being ridden up closer to the pace than usual to keep in touch with those horses.

Jockey Stathi Katsidis said that wouldn't happen again.

"He'll be getting a lot further back in the field from now on because all he wants to do is relax," Katsidis said.

"He's really looking for more ground now."

The Dato Tan Chin Nam has been a good guide to the Cox Plate with eight horses completing the double since 1975, the latest being El Segundo in 2007.

But no winner of the race has gone on to win the Caulfield Cup or the Melbourne Cup in the same period.

Seven Cox Plate winners have come through the Dato Tan Chin Nam in the past 20 years - the latest being Maldivian who finished fourth to Guillotine in 2008.

While no Dato Tan Chin Nam runners have gone on to win the Caulfield Cup in the past 20 years, Rogan Josh (1999), Makybe Diva (2004-05) and Efficient (2007) came through the 1600m weight-for-age feature to win the Melbourne Cup in that period.

Shoot Out is sharing favouritism with Typhoon Tracy at $2.80 with TAB Sportsbet ahead of Whobegotyou at $3.10 in what is considered a race with only three winning chances.

Precedence is at $16 with Zipping next best at $26.

The Moonee Valley track has continued to dry out over the past three days and was rated a slow (6) on Thursday.