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Persan and Grand Promenade will kick off their 2022 campaigns at Sandown on Saturday.

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will have two of their stable stars running at Sandown on Saturday, with Persan and Grand Promenade having their first run since the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) last year.

Persan ran third behind Incentivise in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) before struggling in the Melbourne Cup in a light preparation, however Grand Promenade raced throughout the Winter, which is unlikely to happen this time around according to co-trainer David Eustace.

"I think we're going to give them a run, a little bit of a freshen and then wait for the Heatherlie. They'll both probably do that," Eustace said.

The Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) will be run in August, with a possible option to target a race such as the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes before plotting another path to the first Tuesday in November.

Whilst the pair will head the weights and likely need the run, the stable have a promising chance down the order with Mankayan, who was a strong winner first up at Caulfield and is likely to race through the Winter, akin to Grand Promenade last year and Persan the year before.

"We'll let him go through the grades. He has got a nice rating, just to allow him to do that he's probably got a couple of more runs in open handicap company and keeping him fresh and at slightly shorter trips might suit him better," Eustace said.

The stable had also nominated Thought Of That for Sandown but will target another race over the coming weeks.

"He likes a firm track and we're going to wait for another race," Eustace said.

The stable have booked apprentices to ride their three runners, with Logan McNeil aboard Persan, Thomas Stockdale on Grand Promenade, and Matthew Cartwright sticking with Mankayan after riding him first up.