Kiwi-bred stayer Daqiansweet Junior is on a path toward his second Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) appearance after his first public hit-out this preparation at Pakenham on Tuesday.

The son of Sweet Orange, who finished sixth in last year’s running of the Cup, pleased trainer Phillip Stokes with his 1000m jump out  this week.

“We’re very happy with him at this early stage,” Stokes told Racing.com.

“He only got warm late and he’ll have another jumpout in two weeks and we’ll take it from there, but everything is on track.

“He’s an out-and-out stayer who made a very gallant first attempt on the Melbourne Cup last year and going in this spring as a six-year-old, he’s well placed to run well even at that elite level.”

Daqiansweet Junior impressed last season when stringing together five wins from six starts, including the Gr.2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) before placing in the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m), and Stokes is hoping to recapture that form.

“We’d like to think he could get back to that form but that was in ratings grade as he was coming through, so it’s a lot tougher where his rating is at,” he said.

“All the same, he’s a pretty good horse and there’ll be some suitable races in the spring we can have a go at.”

Daqiansweet Junior was initially trained in New Zealand by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, for whom he won two races and placed in the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2000m) before his sale to Australian syndicator OTI Racing.