Aidan O'Brien is set to start two of his Group I-performers in Saturday's Caulfield Stakes (2000m).
Johannes Vermeer and Taj Mahal will both be nominated for the Group I contest over 2000m under weight-for-age conditions and both will wear the colours of Lloyd Williams having raced in the Michael Tabor livery in Europe.
T.J. Comerford is one of O'Brien's travelling head lads and told Racing Victoria both horses had settled in well at the Werribee quarantine stable.
"They've settled in quite well, they've had two days on the grass now and everything is going to plan with them," Comerford said.
"The plan is for them both to run at Caulfield on Saturday and then we'll see where they go after that, maybe the following Saturday for Johannes Vermeer in the Caulfield Cup and then maybe Taj Mahal in the Cox Plate.
"Taj Mahal is a very laid back horse and he takes the work well, so it can be hard to know but on his form alone he'll be very good."
Aidan O'Brien duo Taj Mahal & Johannes Vermeer given a solid piece of work at Werribee this morning @Racingpic.twitter.com/I22IVRFgki
— James Tzaferis (@jtzaf) October 7, 2017
Johannes Vermeer won the Group I winner Criterium International at Saint-Cloud as a two-year-old but raced only twice in 2016 owing to injury.
This year he has raced five times, winning the Group III International Stakes over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh and runner-up last time out in the Group III Ballyroan Stakes over a mile and a half on August 10.
Taj Mahal's only win in 16 starts was in a nursery on the all-weather at Dundalk a year ago but the son of Galileo has finished runner-up three times this year, notably when beaten 2 1/4-lengths in the Grade I Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park in August.
O'Brien took his Group I tally for the year to 23 - two behind Bobby Frankel's record - on Saturday when Roly Poly won the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket.
