Three-year-old Lord Of The Sky has passed his first weight-for-age test in the Group Three Sir John Monash Stakes to set the platform for a shot at bigger targets.
The speedy colt was sent out the $2.70 favourite in his first start in Group company, and after leading to the turn the son of Danerich put his opposition away in the straight to win by 4-1/2 lengths.
The Bletchingly Stakes will be the next target in three weeks for Lord Of The Sky before a potential crack at the Group One Memsie Stakes at Caulfield at the end of next month.
"He was dominant today," trainer Robbie Laing said, admitting it was the horse's best performance in his eight starts.
"Against that type of horse with that weight, he just left them for dead."
Lord Of The Sky had won four of his seven starts leading into Saturday's race while his only previous stakes attempt was a failure in the Listed WJ Adams Stakes earlier this year.
Jockey Dwayne Dunn, who was riding the colt for the first time, said that once Lord Of The Sky began well from the inside gate he was always going to be hard to beat.
"I was probably questioning him a bit. He was winning but he has been well-placed and the way he was been doing it was off the front, dominating," Dunn said.
"It's always a big ask when you go up to the better grade of horses that can sit on top of you and really give you a kick.
"I think today sort of stamped his authority that he's the real deal."
The Mick Price-trained Le Bonsir ($5.50) led in the chasing pack with Goodwood minor placegetter Riziz another three-quarters of a length away third on a slow-rated track.
Laing is keen to give Lord Of The Sky his chance over 1400m in the weight-for-age Memsie Stakes should he win again in the Bletchingly over 1200m.