The injuries which have dogged Mic Mac throughout his career are entitled to have left the gelding feeling every one of his eight years.

Some days, trainer Paul Messara probably wishes they had.

"You take him out on the track and every day you'd swear it was the first day he'd ever been there," Messara said.

"He shies at everything and carries on like a two-year-old."

Originally trained by Greg Eurell, Mic Mac was a Group Two-winning three-year-old and Group One placed at four.

But his subsequent seasons have been beset by a string of injuries ranging from a quartered hoof to an eye problem to a broken canon bone suffered during the running of the 2012 Galaxy.

The gelding has recuperated from all, well enough to return to the winner's circle two starts ago in the Civic Stakes.

At Randwick on Saturday he steps up to weight-for-age company in the Group Three Missile Stakes (1200m) and at $6 is one of only three runners at single-figure odds.

Messara is proud of Mic Mac's rehabilitation, although he deflects credit to the horse.

"It is a challenge and it takes a certain type of horse," Messara said.

"We persisted. To a large degree, I guess a lot of people would have given up on him but he still had the zest for racing and that's the most important thing.

"When they still want to be there, you've still got something to work with.

"He might not be as good as he once was but he's certainly up to that Group Three, Listed level."

Mic Mac followed his Civic Stakes win with a second in the Winter Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill last start.

He goes into Saturday with a fitness edge over his rivals, although Messara hopes the track improves from it's heavy rating on Friday.

"Slow is as soft as he likes it so we're hoping we can get some improvement," he said.

"I guess it will be in our favour that some of those horses who are resuming, they probably don't want a stiff 1200 first-up and it might end up that way with a wet track."

Wet track specialist Rain Affair has firmed to $1.70 with TAB fixed odds following the downgrade of the track with Hay List second pick at $4.80.

Trainer John McNair will decide on race morning whether injury-plagued sprinter Hay List takes his place.