The placid nature of Muirfield masks a competitive spirit which trainer Mike Moroney hopes can carry the stayer to an Ipswich Cup victory.

Moroney says Muirfield has a laid-back attitude to stable life and trackwork but that quickly changes when the barriers open in a race.

"All my staff enjoy working with him and you wouldn't think he'd pull in races because he's lovely and quiet in his work," Moroney said.

"But he's got a competitive temperament when it comes to racing which is what you want in a good racehorse."

The Ipswich Cup on Saturday is the first of two winter carnival targets Moroney has selected for Muirfield.

"This race and the Caloundra Cup are the races we felt would be ideal for him," he said.

"Caloundra might suit him better but we've kept him on the fresh side for this and the slow track should be perfect."

Moroney is aiming for back-to-back wins in the Cup, and his third overall, after Shenzhou Steeds won last year and He's Back On Track was successful in 1997.

"Shenzhou Steeds probably had a bit more zip because he was more a mile to 2000-metre horse," he said.

"Muirfield is more of a stayer who can race on the speed and keep going."

Muirfield finished only eighth in the Queen's Cup (2500m) at Morphettville on May 11 but Moroney is prepared to overlook that defeat.

"The firm track didn't suit him and we tossed around whether to start that day but we gave the go-head because it fitted into his program for Queensland," he said.

"He really wants rain because because we've found if we dodge the really firm tracks he usually performs well."

Moroney believes the Cup will be run to suit Muirfield.

"They run pretty quickly around that track and he should be able to sit and stalk them in the run," he said.

Moroney will watch the Cup from Melbourne before flying to London on Saturday night for next week's Royal Ascot racing festival.

"I've got an interest in a two-year-old called Extra Noble who might be a runner in the Chesham Stakes on the last day of the carnival," he said.