Ken and Kasey Keys have long made the most of their small team, consistently unearthing horses with the ability to perform on the big stage.

Rich Enuff and Soul Patch both gave the duo memorable rides, and more recently, Scheelite looked like he might be their next standout after winning his opening two starts in style.

However, expectations faded in the spring of 2023 when Scheelite could manage only seventh in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) before tailing off to 11th in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. A few fair runs in the autumn didn’t bring him back to the winner’s circle either.

A fourth-place finish over 1200m at Geelong raised hopes—and some questions—when he faded late despite appearing likely to win at the 100-metre mark.

“There’s been plenty of excuses each run, but now that he’s up against the big boys, he has to stand up and prove himself,” Kasey Keys said.

“After that Geelong run, where he looked like he was going to win 100 metres from home, he pulled-up terrible.

“We found he had a lactic acid issue, so we had to change his diet. That has made a big difference and hopefully we all on top of that now.”

Returning for his third start this prep, Scheelite will race in the Carlton Draught Benchmark 74 Handicap (1600m) at Bendigo this weekend.

The stable had aimed for the Listed Golden Mile, but with a low entry ranking, he missed out.

His form this time in has been fair—seventh over 1100m at Flemington, followed by a fifth at Moonee Valley late last month.

“We put a line through Moonee Valley on the leaders’ track, but we thought his first-up run was a pass mark and hopefully we’ll see a bit more from him this time,” Keys said.