English import Secateur is just starting to warm to his task and will step up to Listed company a week after his fourth Australian start.

Trainer Danny Williams says Saturday's McKell Cup at Randwick has always been the plan for the four-year-old who is headed to 3200 metre races, the distance of the Melbourne Cup.

"He was always going to the McKell Cup. It was last week's race that wasn't on the agenda," Williams said.

"But he is going to be racing over 3200 metres after he goes to the 2400 on Saturday and I felt I needed to get a couple of runs into him.

"We're looking at the Stayers' Cup at Randwick and the Queensland Cup in Brisbane.

"And if he could win one or both of those, we'd seriously think about the Melbourne Cup but that might wait until next year.

"He is only a young stayer and he will get better as he becomes more attuned to his different surroundings."

The Stayer's Cup is at Randwick on June 11 with the Queensland Cup at Eagle Farm five weeks later.

Williams and Phillip Pollicina travelled to England late last year to buy a potential Melbourne Cup contender at the Tattersall's Sale.

Pollicina knew what he was looking for having already experienced a Melbourne Cup win in 2013 as a part-owner of the Gai Waterhouse-trained Fiorente.

John Gosden trained Secateur to two wins in England over 2414m and 2615m.

The gelding finished fourth, three lengths behind Dance Of Heroes, over 2000m on Saturday.

Dance Of Heroes is one of seven Chris Waller-trained horses in the McKell Cup which attracted 19 entries on Monday.

Tunes, who is trained by Grant Young at Murray Bridge in South Australia, will make a shorter trip to Sandown in Melbourne instead of Sydney while the Waller-trained Index Linked is also nominated for the Premier's Cup (2200m) in Brisbane.

Another emerging import, Raw Impulse, is entered for the Sydney race for Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Darren Weir.