Trainer Kris Lees confident Brudenell can bounce back to his best first up in The Warra

An underwhelming winter campaign will quickly be forgotten for talented sprinter Brudenell if he can win Saturday’s Group 3 The Warra.

Brudenell is a leading contender in Saturday’s The Warra. Picture: Jeremy Ng / Getty Images

Smart sprinter Brudenell had excuses for a misfiring winter campaign but trainer Kris Lees is confident his winning machine is ready to fire again in his return at Kembla Grange on Saturday.

Brudenell, a brilliant winner of nine of his 20 starts, will be first-up for another summer campaign when he hunts a valuable win in the Group 3 $300,000 The Warra (1000m).

The son of Russian Revolution “just wasn’t 100 per cent” in two runs during the Brisbane winter but is perfectly poised to surge back into form this weekend.

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“He seems to have come back well with two soft trials and we’ve been really pleased with his work,” Lees said.

“He is a lighter framed horse so he comes to hand fairly quickly.”

Tommy Berry will link up with Brudenell ($9), who was unsuited on a heavy track when fifth behind Insurrection in last year’s The Warra.

Kembla Grange was in the soft range during the week with drying weather set to make the surface perfect for racing this weekend.

Trainer Kris Lees expects Brudenell to run well in his return. Picture: Jeremy Ng / Getty Images

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“He ran in this race last year when it was really heavy but this looks like an appropriate style of race for him,” Lees said.

“From a soft draw (barrier three) he can just stalk the speed and with no rain forecast, the track should be perfect for him.

“It’s an even race.”

Lees could be chasing a feature double by the time Brudenell runs with Loch Eagle ($51) set to line up in the $1m The Gong (1600m).

Stablemate Tavi Time ($9.50) looks unlikely to gain a start in the race as the fourth emergency, leaving last year’s runner up to fly the flag for the stable.

Loch Eagle, drawn in barrier 19, is coming off a midfield finish in the Big Dance.

“I thought he was fine (in the Big Dance) with the 62kg considering and back down in weight in The Gong,” Lees said.

“It’s questionable if he is going as good as last year when he ran second in the race but he could easily make his presence felt with a bit of give in the ground.”

Tavi Time ($3.90) runs in the Abax Civil Benchmark 88 Handicap (1600m).

Originally published as Trainer Kris Lees confident Brudenell can bounce back to his best first up in The Warra