Zourion will be vying to keep Te Akau Racing’s golden run in Melbourne going when she heads to Caulfield on Saturday to contest the Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m).

Last week stablemate Skew Wiff scored victory in the Gr.3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day before trainer Mark Walker’s star sprinter Imperatriz put the cherry on top of an outstanding spring preparation with victory in the Gr.1 Champions Sprint (1200m) last Saturday.

The lightly-raced Zourion has shown a lot of promise to date, winning her first two starts in New Zealand, including the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), before crossing the Tasman and placing behind Coeur Volante in the Gr.2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield last month.

The Thousand Guineas has been in the pipeline for some time for Zourion and Walker is hoping they can get a result this weekend for her owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay of Cambridge Stud.

“We had a chat after the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes with Brendan, Jo and Henry (Plumptre), and that is the programme we mapped out,” Walker told Racing.com.

“She had a nice, decent break after that and hopefully the plan comes off on Saturday.”

Walker was pleased with her run in the Thousand Guineas Prelude and believes she has improved since that run.

“We are really happy with her. Mick Dee said she really toughed it out, Mick said she was entitled not to do what she did and he worked her this (Tuesday) morning and thinks she’s come on even further,” Walker said.

“She’s just continued to eat which is a really good sign for a three-year-old filly.

“We have got no doubts about the mile, I think it will really suit her.

“You would love to just draw a barrier and do no work.”

Zourion was purchased out of Pencarrow Stud’s 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by Te Akau principal David Ellis for $475,000.