Tyler Schiller’s bid for a first Group win this season could rest on where Team Hawkes decide to resume Blue Diamond Stakes winner Devil Night.
The colt holds acceptances for Saturday’s Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill and the McNeil Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield, with a decision due Thursday night.
If he stays in Sydney, Schiller will partner the Group 1 winner for the first time as part of his comeback from a spinal fracture suffered in May.
“The scans revealed a minor fracture that just required rest but I was very lucky,” Schiller said.
“It could have been a lot worse. If I’d gone head-first a lot more damage could have been done.”
Schiller resumed race riding on August 16 and has since ridden at Randwick, going close aboard Gangsta Granny.
He says Devil Night, last seen finishing fifth in the Golden Slipper, remains an exciting prospect.
Schiller also links with Chris Waller’s stayer Etna Rosso, runner-up in the Brisbane Cup, who resumes over 1500m.