It simply didn't make sense for the connections of in-form sprinter Ability to bypass Saturday's Group III Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
Ability has improved rapidly since resuming as a gelding with the son of Reward For Effort progressing from a BM78 to a Listed success in the space of three starts.
Trainer Robert Smerdon said he initially wanted to give Ability a break with another race in mind but decided to capitalise on the four-year-old's hot run of form with an attempt at a Group race win.
"We were going to give him a break but we were waiting for a $150,000 race and there was one in our own backyard," Smerdon said.
"It made sense to take advantage of where he's at if he was coping with the work and he hasn't missed a beat.
"It's a step up again but the horse is pretty fit while Lankan Rupee and a couple of others are resuming from good spells so we're hoping it will be to our advantage."
Smerdon said Ability's work at Caulfield on Tuesday morning showed the speedster was fit enough to continue his winning run if he coped with the jump to weight-for-age racing.
However, Smerdon said the Bletchingly Stakes would serve as a pointer to where Ability sits in the sprinting ranks leading into the spring.
"(Jockey) Ryan Maloney, who rides him in all his fast work, rode him to dash up over 600(m) this morning and said he's going as well as he has ever been," Smerdon said.
"It's a class test for him and we'll be able to see where he steps up.
"If he falls short, there are still plenty of races form him but it's a good time to gauge him against those sorts of horses."
Craig Williams will resume his partnership with Ability after missing the horse's last-start win in the Listed All Victorian Sprint Series Final through suspension.
