Hunter Valley harness racing trainer Shane Tritton admits he took the wrong horse to the New Zealand Cup in 2013.
Suave Stuey Lombo struggled with the standing start conditions however stablemate Mach Beauty is much better suited behind 'the strands' as he proved in a trial on Wednesday night at Newcastle.
The son of Mach Three rated 2:00.1 for the 2030 metres after stepping away safely and in the process broke the Newcastle standing start track record.
Mach Beauty has not raced for a year but is just about ready to return to racing after two solid trials with Guy Chapple in the sulky.
"With Lauren (Panella) still on the sidelines, Guy has been driving him and he'll get the chance to drive him in the first part of his preparation too," Tritton said.
"I'm really keen for him to have a shot at the New Zealand Cup, I loved the experience with Suave Stuey Lombo and I learned a lot on that trip."
It is expected Mach Beauty will have at least one more trial before he resumes.
"There is definitely no rush at the moment, he has had a slow build up to his racetrack return and I think it will pay dividends in the long run.
"I'm aiming to have him ready to race in the middle of September which will give him two months of solid racing before the NZ Cup."
Tritton is considering taking Suave Stuey Lombo to New Zealand as well but will concentrate on the NZ Free-For-All.
"At this stage I'm thinking of taking Mach Beauty over and he would compete in the Cup and the FFA while Suave Stuey Lombo might just go over and target the FFA, we now understand that he is best suited over the short trips and that is what we are going to concentrate on.
"If everything goes right with Mach Beauty and he copes well then I will take him across to Perth for the Inter Dominion as well but there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge between now and then."
After making the decision to campaign a large team of horses in Queensland during the Winter Carnival, Tritton threw away his chances of winning the NSW Trainers Premiership.
"I had to do the right thing by my owners and that was to chase the big money in Queensland, we won plenty of races up there and if I stayed at home I think it would have been very close between Steve (Turnbull) and I but you have to do what is right by the people behind your stable.
"Actually I have forgotten what my home looks like, I spent a long time in Queensland and now I am in Victoria for the Breeders Crown and I still won't be back in New South Wales for a while."
Katy Perry won a repechage of the Breeders Crown on Wednesday night at Kilmore and Tritton is happy with her.
"We were a little bit behind when she arrived in Australia because she had been in the paddock but I was really happy with her performances in Queensland and her win on Wednesday night was good.
"I had to replace Robbie Morris because he had an issue with his car on the way down to Kilmore but Amanda Turnbull did everything she was asked to and did a great job."
With Panella not expected to return until at least October, Tritton will continue to use the best driver available.
"It is not easy because most of the top drivers are committed to other stables already and they understand that when Lauren is back she will be doing the driving on my horses but I think we have been able to make the best of a bad situation.
"I'm still aiming to train 200 NSW winners this season and I know time is running out but that's the goal I'm targeting by the end of the month."
Tritton has trained 191 NSW winners in 2014/15.
Greg Hayes