Mick Price says Heart Of Dreams is at the crossroads with his Underwood Stakes performance determining whether he continues towards the Cox Plate or heads to 1600 metre feature handicaps.The Australian Guineas winner clashes with Cox Plate favourite Whobegotyou for only the third time in Saturday's Group One Underwood (1800m) at Caulfield and has a victory over him in the Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill last March.Price has been satisfied with the four-year-old's two runs this campaign which
Mick Price says Heart Of Dreams is at the crossroads with his Underwood Stakes performance determining whether he continues towards the Cox Plate or heads to 1600 metre feature handicaps.
The Australian Guineas winner clashes with Cox Plate favourite Whobegotyou for only the third time in Saturday's Group One Underwood (1800m) at Caulfield and has a victory over him in the Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill last March.
Price has been satisfied with the four-year-old's two runs this campaign which resulted in a first-up fourth to Predatory Pricer in the Liston Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield - a race in which Whobegotyou was runner-up - and fifth behind Vigor in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
"This is a decision making run for us," Price said.
"He's going great, I can't have him any better, he's a sound horse, he worked really well on the course proper on Tuesday and he's had a good preparation.
"He got beaten two lengths in the Makybe Diva after getting squashed up in a bit of traffic.
"He's drawn a really good gate (barrier four) that will give him the run of the race so hopefully he gets a traffic free run and we get a chance to truly assess him.
"He has to win to stay on the weight-for-age trail into the Cox Plate, but if he has a nice run and can't win we may go back to the mile (1600m) handicaps such as the Toorak and the Emirates, so it is an important day for him.
"This is his first try at the 1800 metres and these weight-for-age races are pretty tough, but I think he'll run a very, very good race.
"He gets his chance to stand up and be counted tomorrow."
Meanwhile Mark Kavanagh is pretty happy with where Whobegotyou is at in his march towards the Cox Plate, but expects reigning Cox Plate hero Maldivian to need the run to bring him up to where he wants him to be.
"Somewhere along the line he (Whobegotyou) had to back up and we have decided to do it this week," Kavanagh said of last Saturday's impressive Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes winner at Moonee Valley.
"That should get us to either the Turnbull or the Yalumba and then he should go straight into the Cox Plate."
"He (Maldivian) tries every time and he's a remarkable horse but you'd think jumping from 1200 to 1800 metres there would be fitter horses around.
"There is a fair bit of improvement in him."
Typhoon Tracy, Zarita and third emergency Miss Darcey, if she gains a start, will be out to break a 24-year hoodoo on mares in the Underwood.
Tristarc was the last mare to win the weight-for-age event in 1985 and she went on to win the Caulfield Cup the same year.