New Zealand Group One winner Start Wondering will head to Brisbane rather than Hong Kong for his next race.

His co-trainer JJ Rayner said the quarantine restrictions to get him home had ruled out the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize on May 7, the race won last year by Australian champion Chautauqua.

Instead Start Wondering will be set for Group One sprints during the Queensland winter carnival.

"He definitely won't be going to Hong Kong. Getting there was fine but getting him home wasn't so great," Rayner, who trains Start Wondering with her father Evan, told nzracing,co.

"He would be away for a month and a half and he could be there on his own in quarantine if no Australian horses go.

"We decided that it wasn't in the horse's best interests so at this stage we will be looking at Brisbane.

"The BTC Cup and the Doomben 10,000 are very good options and we could also be looking at the Stradbroke."

Trained by Paul Belsham early in his career, Start Wondering won four races in Sydney during a stint with Chris Waller.

He received a mandatory three-month ban after a bleeding attack and was sent back home.

With Belsham retired, the Rayners took over his training and he has racked up three wins from six starts for the stable including two at Group One level in the Sistema Stakes and the NRM Sprint.