Big Money failed to fire when he returned to racing in the 2015 Hall Mark Stakes at Royal Randwick on April 18, but trainer Rod Northam is confident that the consistent sprinter can produce an improved effort when he contests the 2015 BTC Cup at Doomben on Saturday.

Big Money will make his debut at Group 1 level in the 2015 BTC Cup. Photo by: Daniel Costello

Big Money was settled towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the Hall Mark Stakes and was never able to get into the race before he came out of his first-up start with a minor hoof issue.

Northam told Sky Racing HQ that he was forced to give Big Money a couple of quite days coming out of the Hall Mark Stakes, but he said that the Choisir gelding had impressed him and jockey Robert Thompson during trackwork on Friday.

The Scone-based trainer said that Big Money had produced another strong piece of trackwork this morning and Northam believes that his star sprinter will produce a far better performance in the BTC Cup.

“He has come along nicely from the gallop,” Northam said.

“He probably needed it because he had a bit of a foot issue earlier that week and we hadn’t been able to do a lot with him, so we had to give him a hard gallop and he got that on Friday.

“He had another galloper this morning, which was really good and the track was a bit better this morning.

“As long as it stays dry, which it looks like it is going to, I expect him to run well.

“We have had feet issues the whole prep and I have just been playing a little bit of catch-up here and there with missing bits of work.

“I am much happier going into Saturday that he will be running a lot better, especially if he gets a dry track.

“You might see a few form reversals with the good surface and I expect him to run a lot better on Saturday.”

Big Money will be returning to Brisbane for the first time since he took out the Group 3 George Moore Stakes (1200m) and Listed Lough Neagh Stakes (1350m) during the 2014 Brisbane Summer Racing Carnival and will likely remain in Queensland for the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) and Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1350m).

Big Money is currently available at 2015 BTC Cup odds of $34 with Ladbrokes, while Our Boy Malachi ($4.20) remains a clear favourite from Srikandi ($5.50), Trust In A Gust ($6.50), Bring Me The Maid ($11), El Roca ($11) and Scissor Kick ($11).