Lizard Island will have his races restricted to 1600 metres for the remainder of his three-year-old year.
Trainer Pat Hyland will resist the temptation to step the colt up in distance after his failure over 2500 metres in the Victoria Derby in the spring.
The Caulfield Guineas runner-up is set to make his racetrack return in the Group Three C S Hayes Stakes at Flemington on Saturday with Nick Hall to ride.
He showed he was on track for the 1400m-race with an impressive 990m-barrier trial win over Scissor Kick at Cranbourne last Monday with Hall aboard.
“It was pretty solid trial and he’s a pretty fair horse Scissor Kick,” Hyland said.
“I was surprised we were able to go with Scissor Kick quite easy.”
Hyland plans to run Lizard Island in the Australian Guineas before taking him to Sydney where the colt holds a nomination for The Doncaster Mile.
“He’s in the Doncaster and three-year-olds have had a pretty good record in the race,” Hyland said.
“It’s a three million dollar race so it would be good to have a go at it.”
Hyland said he pressed on to the Derby in the spring after Lizard Island followed his second in the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) with another second in the Caulfield Classic (2000m).
He said Blake Shinn rang him after the Derby and apologised for the ride but the trainer said although Lizard Island could have finished closer, he would not have won.
“He couldn’t have won the Derby even if he had been perfectly ridden and he might have run fifth or sixth,” Hyland said.
“I discussed it with the owner and I said I don’t think this horse needs to get over too much ground.
“And after showing the pace he did in the trial, you wouldn’t be looking at him being a mile-and-a-half horse.”
