The first thing trainer Colin Little did after his mare Soft Sand returned to the enclosure after she bashed and barged her way through her first-up run at Caulfield was to check her legs.

Then he checked for any sign of lameness and then he quizzed jockey Craig Williams.

Many times that night and over the next few days, Little ran his hands down her legs and over her joints, feeling for heat and making sure the tendons were as they should be.

It was only after a week of doing the same thing over and over that Little was satisfied Soft Sand had come through the rough and tumble of her spring debut in good shape and would be ready for her next assignment - Saturday's Group Two Blazer Stakes (1410m) at Flemington.

"With the degree of interference she suffered it's very easy for them to hurt themselves," Little said.

"It got pretty willing there for a while when she was trying to get a clear run, in those situations it's easy to do a lot of damage."

Soft Sand finished fourth behind Detours in her first since June, and only got as close as she did thanks to the willingness of her and her jockey to get into a stoush.

"I thought she was always going to need a bit of luck at Caulfield, and she didn't get it," Little said.

"But we've had some at last this week with barrier one and I think she should get a much better run."

Soft Sand has raced only nine times for four wins, none of them beyond 1200m.

But Little is confident the extra distance at Flemington won't be a problem as she heads toward the Group One Myer Classic (1600m) at the same track on November 3.

"This is the first time she's run at 1400 metres second up, but she's pretty well primed," he said.