Alward will have to prove himself clearly superior to his Ranvet Handicap (2000m) rivals at Rosehill on Saturday to keep a Group One dream alive for his New Zealand connections.
The Go Racing-managed stayer needs to produce a dominant display to earn himself a crack at The Metropolitan (2400m) at the end of the month.
“Stepping up to 2000 metres will suit better, but to run in a Metrop he'd need to win by four or five lengths,” trainer Chris Waller said.