Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott are hoping gear adjustments can help unlock the potential of French import Shamarkand in Saturday’s Deane Lester Flemington Cup 1849 (2800m).

Blinkers and a tongue tie will be added for the stayer’s third Australian appearance after two below-par efforts since being bought for €170,000 (about $300,000) from The Arc Sale.

Shamarkand had an impressive resume in Europe with three wins, including a Listed victory at Vichy and a Group 3 placing at Longchamp.

However, his final European run resulted in a last-place finish behind Illinois in the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay. Illinois recently ran second in the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup.

Locally, Shamarkand has been underwhelming, most recently running sixth over 2600m at Flemington earlier this month.

“We’ve put the blinkers on in a bid to sharpen him up a bit,” Bott said.

“He’s still adapting to the conditions over here and he’s been a bit one-paced this preparation.”

Bott is optimistic Shamarkand will show improvement next campaign but hopes for encouraging signs on Saturday.

“I thought there was some nice improvement there second-up and we thought the blinkers may help, but he may still be a preparation away from really seeing the form he has shown previously,” Bott said.

“We would like to see some improvement from him on Saturday but it’s all stepping stones for next campaign and getting him acclimatised.”

Jett Stanley has again been booked to ride the stayer.

Betting markets for Shamarkand and the full Flemington card are available via leading bookmakers listed here.