Sandown is set to host an intriguing clash between two promising new additions to Lindsay Park, but co-trainers Ben, Will, and JD Hayes are wary of the barrier draws heading into the Thoroughbred Club of Australia Handicap (1000m) this Saturday.

Katsu and Kristilli are the stable’s runners in the sprint feature and both have pleased the training team in their lead-ups to the return. Katsu, previously trained by Grahame Begg, looked destined for elite company after winning the Listed Kensington Stakes (1000m) at Flemington late last year. He was then being aimed at the Oakleigh Plate, but a subpar run in the W J Adams Stakes marked the start of a form slump.

Since transferring to Lindsay Park, Katsu has trialled strongly. “He’s a tricky horse to train,” Ben Hayes said. “He’s a strong horse in trackwork but very fast and hopefully he can run well first-up for the stable.”

“His trial form is very strong. The horse that beat him in his first one was from Grahame Begg’s yard (Niance) that went on and won a Stakes race.”

Kristilli, meanwhile, was a Group 2 winner early in her career, taking out the Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) while with Annabel Neasham. After a short stint with Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, she now joins Lindsay Park in search of a fresh start.

“We’ve been lucky to get her as her rating starts to get low,” Hayes said. “This would be one of the easier races that she has run in, and I think she can run well.”

“She has trialled up nicely and done everything right and I think it will be a nice race for her to blow out the cobwebs. I think it’s a nice kick-off for both of them.”

Logan Bates will take 3kg off Katsu’s weight, while Harry Coffey has been engaged to ride Kristilli.