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Trainer Gary Portelli will start three genuine contenders in the Midway Handicap, led by three-year-old Royalzel.

The chance to secure the services of champion hoop James Mcdonald has proven too big a drawcard for Gary Portelli to resist. 

The Warwick Farm trainer could have opted to nominate stakes winner Royalzel for the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday but will instead kick-start the three-year-old's campaign against older horses in the Midway Handicap (1300m). 

While it means Portelli will saddle up three runners in the race, with Royalzel to be joined by Exceltic and Lord Zoulander, the trainer has no doubt it is the right option. 

"I thought 1400 metres at Group level off a short break and only one trial might be asking too much," Portelli said. 

"This is over 1300 and he gets a good jockey. That's certainly a carrot being able to put 'JMac' on." 

Royalzel proved to be one of the finds of the winter, winning three of his five starts culminating in the Listed Gibson Carmichael Stakes at Flemington in July. 

Portelli still cannot believe the colt's form given his immaturity but if he continues to defy expectation, he will earn himself a shot at some major spring targets. 

"He is a very immature horse to look at and you wouldn't think out of all our two-year-olds who won races last season that he would be one of them," Portelli said. 

"What he's done he's done on raw ability. 

"I thought he could start out in this and then we can work out a program, possibly heading towards the Caulfield Guineas. 

"We'll use this as a crossroads for his preparation. It will tell us which way we go, whether we take the high road or we stay under the covers a little bit." 

Royalzel's stiffest competition in Saturday's race could come from his stablemates. 

Exceltic has returned in outstanding form, following a first-up win with a fast-finishing second in a Midway at Kembla Grange on August 14, while Lord Zoulander will relish a return to a rain-affected track.