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Matt Cumani wants to see Khoekhoe finish off his next race before committing to a start in the Queensland Derby.

Matt Cumani still has a number of unanswered questions around his three-year-old Khoekhoe who is Brisbane bound for his next outing. 

Khoekhoe ran fifth in the Australian Derby and Cumani was hoping for a soft ride in behind the speed when the colt was dropped back in trip for the Frank Packer Plate at Randwick on April 24. 

Unfortunately for Cumani, Khoekhoe was ridden too handy and eventually dropped out to finish second-last in the eight-horse field, more than 12 lengths off the winner Senor Toba. 

"His three-year-old year is coming to an end," Cumani said. 

"Ideally, I would like a little bit more time to figure him out to see if that was a once off in Sydney, or whether it forms part of a character shift. 

"He's a horse that used to race beautifully in behind at the back and finish off well.  

"That's the way his best races were run and won and that's what I would like to get him back to." 

With the Queensland Derby (2400m) looming at Eagle Farm on May 29, Cumani has decided to run Khoekhoe on Saturday in the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben. 

"I can't risk going into a 2400-metre race and have him doing a similar thing, so we're looking at the Rough Habit, at Doomben," Cumani said. 

"Hopefully they'll truck along a bit quicker there and at a pace he will be a bit more comfortable with and a pace that he can drop back in. 

"Then we'll be able to make a definitive answer on whether we start in the Derby after that. 

"And if it doesn't work, he can spell up in Queensland in the winter warmth."