Trainers Ben, JD and Will Hayes are hoping Little Brose can return to his winning ways when he heads to Caulfield on Saturday-week to contest the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m).

The son of Per Incanto had a standout juvenile season, winning the Gr.1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m), and placed in the Gr.3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) and Gr.3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m).

He has had three runs as a three-year-old, placing in the Gr.3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield before finishing sixth in the Gr.3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) last start, and his trainers are hoping he can return to form at the right moment next weekend.

"He's just had bad luck," Ben Hayes told Racing.com.

"He has drawn wide gates and got disconnected the other day and had to do a lot of work to get into the race, and held his ground and didn't lose ground or weakened.

"I think he is improving and he is being punished for being a Group One winner, carrying more weight than the other horses, and now he gets to meet them on level weights.

"He does need to show improvement to win a Caulfield Guineas, it's a very strong race this year but we haven't lost faith in him.

"We've kept him in Melbourne to change things up and if he draws an inside draw in the Caulfield Guineas and can settle in that nice midfield position, you will see a different horse.”