Like A Carousel will press his claims for two 3200m Cup races when he heads to Flemington.

The Ken Keys-trained stayer lines up in the Roy Higgins Quality as a prelude to the Adelaide and Sydney Cups.

Keys said Like A Carousel wouldn't be seen at his best until stretched out to 3200m.

The Adelaide Cup is run at Morphettville on March 14 and the Sydney Cup at Randwick on April 9.

"Not many horses do two 3200-metre races in a row these days but he's got a month between runs so it shouldn't be too stressful," Keys said.

Like A Carousel ran third in the Sydney Cup last year behind the Chris Waller-trained stablemates Grand Marshal and Who Shot Thebarman.

He finished fourth in the Sandown Cup at 3200m in November behind Almoonqith and resumed over 1800m last month, finishing ninth at Caulfield on February 13.

Keys said Like A Carousel didn't trial as he had in previous preparations but he was happy with his return run.

"That was probably as good as he's run over a short course," Keys said.

"The fact that he could keep up was interesting as there was no expectations before the race."

Being second-up at 2600m on Saturday, Keys is expecting Like A Carousel to be competitive.

Whether he's a winning chance is still to be seen because Like A Carousel is rated a $26 chance with Real Love the $2.90 favourite.