James Winks has picked up the plum ride on unbeaten sprinter Deep Field in the Group One Lightning Stakes.

The ride became available when Dwayne Dunn failed in an appeal on Wednesday to get at least one meeting shaved off a careless riding suspension.

Winks, who rode the highly rated two-year-old Headwater to a Moonee Valley debut win in Dunn's absence in December, takes the reins on his Hawkes Racing-trained stablemate Deep Field in Saturday's Group One sprint at Flemington.

Deep Field faces his first test at Group One level having won his five starts, including a Group Two Flemington sprint during last year's Melbourne Cup carnival.