Group 3 winner Kiss Sum is back in work after a short break in Queensland as he takes his first steps towards an assault on the $10 million Golden Eagle.

The rising four-year-old returned to Tracey Bartley’s Wyong stable earlier this month and is likely to kick off his spring campaign towards the end of September.

“He had three weeks off up there, a week on the treadmill and he’s back in work,” Bartley said.

“He hasn’t had a lot of time out, but he looks fine. He’s had a sunbake up there, although there probably wasn’t a lot of sun, it was better than down here.”

Runner-up in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final during the Sydney autumn carnival, Kiss Sum built on his record in Brisbane where he followed a second in the Fred Best Classic (1400m) with a commanding Gunsynd Classic (1600m) triumph.

The 2019 Golden Eagle victor Kolding was a Group winner during the Brisbane carnival before returning in the spring to capture the four-year-old feature, and Bartley is likewise confident Kiss Sum’s winter experience will be a solid platform for his upcoming campaign.

“His prep was faultless really. His form is really good and we’ve got a really smart horse on our hands,” Bartley said.

“He’s got the right formlines to go to a Golden Eagle.

“He might need to win one on the way through and get his benchmark up a little bit more, but he’s in a good space.”

While Bartley is yet to lock in a first-up assignment for Kiss Sum, the Shamus Award gelding is likely to head to the Silver Eagle (1300m) on October 8 second-up, before tackling the Golden Eagle (1500m) three weeks later.