Master class for O'Brien

Master O'Reilly ran second in the Turnbull Stakes but it was as good as a win for trainer Danny O'Brien.

Unwanted in the ring, Master O'Reilly, partnered by Vlad Duric, lived up to O'Brien's expectations in the Turnbull when he turned in a slashing Caulfield Cup trial by finishing second to Littorio.

The run saw Master O'Reilly tightened in from $26 to $9 and outright fourth favourite for the 2400m handicap.

The Turnbull confirmed to O'Brien, who has given his stayer an unorthodox preparation this spring, that Master O'Reilly was on track for back-to-back Caulfield Cup victories.

Saturday's run was only the lightly-raced six-year-old's third start since he scored a dominant victory in last year's Caulfield Cup.

The merit of that win, however, has been questioned by critics, who believe Maldivian would have won had he not been the victim of a pre-race mishap in the barriers.

"I would say that today he's answered the question. Whether Maldivian started he would have beaten him," O'Brien said of last year's Caulfield Cup when Master O'Reilly ran the third-fastest race time ever to win emphatically.

Master O'Reilly will enter this year's Caulfield Cup off the back of only two runs, a plan which O'Brien hatched after last year's Melbourne Cup when he was an unplaced favourite.

This year's Melbourne Cup will be Master O'Reilly's fourth run this campaign.

"We took the decision after the Melbourne Cup last year you don't want to run this horse in races he's not suited in," he said. "He's a 2400m horse. Just every day since Melbourne Cup day last year has been about getting him back."

"It was probably one run too many and this year it won't be."

"I'm really pleased. He's a very, very good stayer."

O'Brien's other staying star Douro Valley, runner-up in last year's Caulfield Cup, will have his final preparatory run in the weight-for-age Yalumba Stakes (2000m).