Lycurgus canters home at Sandown

A drop back in grade and a strong-paced 2400m helped Lycurgus find his best form at Sandown on Wednesday.

The 2017 Galilee Series Final winner had not won since that listed triumph, but trainer Danny O'Brien was extremely confident of a strong showing.

"We felt he was the best horse in the race and third up, getting to his pet 2400m, we felt it was going to take something special from one of his rivals to beat," O'Brien said.

"Daniel gave him a terrific ride, and that added with the Good track and strong tempo played into his hands nicely."

The Star Witness four-year-old was placed twice in Melbourne during the Spring before being terribly unlucky to be nosed out in Sydney in November.

"He has been around about the mark without winning, but he was a victim of circumstance in his first two runs back and today everything panned out perfectly," O'Brien said.

Jockey Daniel Moor was thrilled with the 3.5-length victory.

"He was very, very good today. He got into a lovely rhythm early and he really showed a strong turn of foot when he balanced up in the straight, it was a win of some promise," Moor said.

Moor partnered O'Brien's Another Bullseye to win at Flemington last Saturday and the hoop is in career-best form ahead of his stint in Singapore which begins at the completion of this weekend's Caulfield meeting.

Pic by Racing Photos