A colt Robbie Laing rated superior to two stakes-winning stablemates will make a belated debut at Sandown on Wednesday.

Dezannam will step out for his first start in the Equiano - King Of Speed Handicap, about eigth months after Laing thought the two-year-old would start making his impact on the racetrack before injury curtailed most of his juvenile season.

"In his early trials he had three or four lengths on both Boomwaa and Golconda and they performed well over the spring, both winning," Laing said.

"He had a tiny little chip in a pedal bone which we had to just sit on and wait for it to re-attach.

"Then, still thinking he was a Blue Diamond horse, I rushed him a bit and he went shinsore in January."

Stablemate Boomwaa won the Maribyrnong Plate last November and finished fifth in February's Group One Blue Diamond Stakes during an eight-start juvenile season.

Golconda was also a Listed winner at Caulfield last November.

Dezannam will be ridden by Dwayne Dunn and while Laing admits the colt has improvement to come out of his first start, he expects he can make his presence felt in Wednesday's 900-metre race for two-year-olds.

"I really would love to have got a grass trial into him prior to resuming but he went to Sandown last Friday and galloped," Laing said.

"He'll take improvement from whatever he does, and that includes winning.

"He could win but he's a little bit underdone. He's a beautiful horse with a lot of upside to him."

The Sandown-Hillside course was rated a heavy (8) on Tuesday after 38mm of rain in the past week.

Trainer Ciaron Maher said four-year-old Hard Romp would line up in a 1000-metre race on Wednesday instead of the Group Three Sir John Monash Stakes on Saturday.

"He likes the Hillside course," Maher said of the last-start winner who has two wins and a second from three starts at the track.