Gary Portelli will chase a Hawkesbury victory on Saturday with a horse he never intended to keep in his stable.

The Warwick Farm trainer will start two-year-old Runkle in the Evergreen Turf Claret Stakes (1300m), a race won last year by Zoustar on his way to Brisbane winter carnival success.

Portelli is hoping Saturday's edition also unearths a star of the future and he has more than just his trainer's cut at stake.

He bought the colt as a yearling with plans to on-sell him at a breeze-up sale.

The horse attracted an offer of $70,000 but after some advice from jockey Tommy Berry, Portelli knocked it back.

"Tommy Berry came out to do the breeze-up and he said I wouldn't be selling this if I was you," Portelli said.

Instead, Portelli did something he rarely does. He kept a 50 per cent stake in the colt.

"I try not to stay in them but in this case the amount of ability he showed in trackwork, I knew we had a nice horse," he said.

Runkle comes into Saturday's race off a debut third to Sarajevo on the Kensington track when he got a long way back and was held up for a run before working to the line once clear.

He has trained on well since and only a nagging doubt about the length of time he has been in the stable is dampening Portelli's confidence.

The colt was ready to trial last year but pulled a muscle and rather than risk him in a paddock, Portelli kept him at Warwick Farm.

"He has been in the stable system for 250 days," he said.

"But he worked brilliantly on Tuesday and he did some work (on Thursday) to top him off.

"He's ready to win on the weekend, provided he hasn't had enough."

Portelli also reported Rebel Dane had come through his All Aged Stakes fifth in good shape and confirmed plans to freshen him for the Doomben 10,000 on May 24.