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SUTTON Grange trainer Brent Stanley is preparing for an all out assault on Golden Mile race day. The dual Group 3-winning mentor will have six of his stable engaged at Bendigo racecourse on Saturday, including a pair of runners in the Listed-race $150,000 Golden Mile. They are recent Group 3 winner Violate and Red Alto, who returns to the Bendigo track for the first time since his remarkable triumph in the Group 3 Bendigo Cup last October. READ MORE: Tough Brent Stanley-trained stayer Red Alto scores upset Bendigo Cup victory Stanley will also have impressive debut winner Smart Horse engaged in the $150,000 Bendigo Guineas, along with Invincible Lotus in the VOBIS Gold Rush and three-time city winner Critical Thinking in the benchmark 90 handicap. A hectic day for the in-form trainer will kick-off early, with recent Adelaide winner Lucky Fish in the opening event on the quality-packed nine-race program. Stanley said he was glad to be flying the flag for the Bendigo training ranks. "As far as I am concerned I am a local and hopefully we can have a big day," he said. "All going well the three major races - the Guineas, the two-year-old and the mile - I definitely have live winning chances in those. "Fingers crossed it can be a big day like Bendigo Cup day, when we got a double and could easily have gotten a treble. "That was the day Lucky Fish got scratched in the last when Damien Oliver got hurt on the way out of the enclosure. I thought he was a good thing that day." Evaluating his chances, Stanley was vibrant in regards his star Golden Mile contender Violate. "I think she will be the main chance in it. She is a Group 2 winner first-up this prep, went to a heavy track at Rosehill two weeks ago and didn't really get through it, but I was still happy with his run," he said. "He's improved out of that and is going very well. I dare say he will be very competitive. "Red Alto in the same race is probably looking for a bit further (distance) now at this point of the preparation. "He ran well first-up over 1400m and second-up over a mile. "If the speed is on he will be flying home, but he will need that speed on to be right in the race. "I just think over the mile, Violate has that class edge on him." A Golden Mile win would be some consolation for Stanley, who missed a start in the $5 million All-Star Mile with the five-year-old despite staking a major claim for inclusion with his impressive win in the Shaftesbury Avenue Stakes at Flemington. Stanley is preparing for Smart Horse's run in the Bendigo Guineas to be the last in Australia for the New Zealand-bred gelding, following on from his scintillating 5.2 length win on debut at Kyneton earlier this month. The three-year-old is owned in Hong Kong and looks destined for a career over there should he run well on Saturday. "We thought he'd win on debut, which she did and thankfully we got a start in the race after a scratching on Thursday morning," he said. "Win, lose or draw Saturday, he will definitely go on to win some very good races, bit if he wins this Saturday, he's probably Hong Kong bound. "That is part of the deal with our Asian-based clients; you win races here and they take them back to where they live, but they always replace them with other horses." Asked if Smart Horse had been one of the most impressive debutante winners in his five years as a trrainer, Stanley opted for a 'yes-no' answer. "I have had some really impressive first-up horses, but this horse was prepared for this race (the Guineas)," he said. "To go and win his first start and get into this Listed race has been a big achievement." READ MORE: Smart three-year-old wins on debut for Stanley Stanley has an equally high opinion of the five-year-old gelding Critical Thinking, who has been given a freshen up following his unplaced run in the $100,000 Echuca Cup, in a race not run to suit. "His last two starts, actually, he has had no luck at all, but the start prior to that he won," he said. "All going well I am very happy with him and if he gets the right run he will be hard to beat. "He has trialled well at the track, has won three in town and six races in all, so he has a couple of big ticks in the boxes." READ MORE: Critical Thinking draws praise from jockey Lucky Fish will be attempting a third win at Bendigo over the 1300m distance, while Stanley is also confident of the chances of Invincible Lotus in the VOBIS Gold Rush after the two-year-old filly's impressive win on debut at Seymour earlier in the month. With a wealth of strong chances on Saturday and 24 wins already on board this season, the young trainer is on target to eclipse last season's tally of 39. Stanley will have more than 70 owners, friends and family in attendance on Saturday in a trackside marquee. Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.

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