Nash Rawiller appreciates the irony of his pairing with Laser Hawk in Saturday's Apollo Stakes at Warwick Farm.

Rawiller hasn't ridden in a race since he broke his ankle in a barrier mishap on December 18 and Laser Hawk has been sidelined for 10 months after an operation to remove a bone chip.

"He's coming back from injury and so am I so we'll be a good pair," Rawiller said.

Rawiller spent his break enjoying time with his young family, as well as dabbling in some media work and assisting trainer Gai Waterhouse at trackwork.

"You try and take the positives out of it. I got to spend Christmas and New Year with the family and the school holidays with the kids which was a real bonus," he said.

"You work pretty hard at Gai's, it's pretty full-on, so a little bit of a freshen-up hasn't done me any harm."

But make no mistake, Rawiller is desperate to get back into competition.

And he is particularly keen to get back aboard Laser Hawk.

A half-brother to Desert War, Laser Hawk won the Rosehill Guineas at his fifth start and was third in the Derby at his next.

Rawiller has watched him develop from "a big, raw dumbo" into a Group One winner and has deliberately timed his comeback to coincide with the gelding's.

"You go through and try to give yourself something to look forward to and with these good horses coming back, he was certainly one I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on," Rawiller said.

At $6.50 with TAB fixed odds, Laser Hawk is fourth pick with his Waterhouse-trained stablemate Glencadam Gold the $4 favourite.

Glencadam Gold's popularity in the 1400m event is somewhat unusual as he hasn't raced since finishing a tough sixth in the Melbourne Cup.

But a breathtaking exhibition gallop last Saturday signalled he was sharp enough to perform fresh, an opinion shared by Rawiller who rode barn mate Julienas in the workout.

"That was as good a gallop as you'd ever see. I didn't get to feel it, but from where I was he put the writing on the wall that he's come back better than ever," Rawiller said.

"But I have a lot of faith in him (Laser Hawk). I think he's a racehorse. He saves his best for race day."

Laser Hawk has pleased the stable since recovering from a foot abscess although he will be vetted when he arrives on track.

With Julienas an early scratching, Rawiller's only other ride is juvenile Marseille Roulette, although he will also put Pierro through his paces in a solo exhibition gallop.

"It's a pretty low-profile kick-off, just taking a couple of rides," Rawiller said.

"But it's a really good starting point and we'll just keep building on from that and hopefully have a really good autumn."