Grahame Begg is convinced Splash Back has Stakes-class talent, but he is happy to give the mare her opportunity to first continue working her way through the grades in another Benchmark race in Melbourne.
An impressive first-up winner in a fillies and mares' Benchmark 78 over 1200m at Caulfield on May 31, five-year-old Splash Back is set for her next progression in a 1420-metre Benchmark 90 against her own sex at Flemington on Saturday.
Begg was taken by the performance of the mare at Caulfield, when Splash Back sprinted down the outside under apprentice Tom Prebble to score by two-and-a-quarter lengths.
"I thought it was pretty exciting, visually," Begg said.
"The race worked out very well. They didn't go very hard and it allowed her to be in the running line, close enough and well within her comfort zone and it allowed her to be able to let down when he (Prebble) produced her."
WATCH: Splash Back's last-start win
Begg said the mare had trained on 'beautifully' since that Caulfield win and believes Saturday's race shapes as the right next step for the daughter of Le Havre, who has won two of her three starts since joining the Begg stable and has an overall record of five wins from 11 starts.
Prebble has again been booked to ride Splash Back as he can claim 2kg off the mare's 55.5kg weight.
"This race is a nice transition from 1200m to 1400m and obviously she was going to get in very well at the handicaps with 2kg off her back (with the claim)," Begg said.
"She gets in with 53.5kg, so it's a nice drop in weight.
"I know we've gone up in grade, but I certainly think that she's well up to it."
Splash Back's two wins for the Begg team have been at Seymour first-up last spring and Caulfield first-up this campaign, while the mare was a luckless unplaced runner in a Group 3 race for mares over 1400m during last year's Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington.
"She had a lot of luck, but it was all bad," Begg quipped, when referring to the mare's previous Flemington appearance.
"I certainly feel that Stakes class is well within her reach.
"We've got to keep raising the bar with her gently and she's got to keep on putting her hand up.
"But she's given us no reason to suggest that she has gone backwards (since her first-up run), put it that way."
Begg is yet to lock in where he wants to head with Splash Back after Saturday's assignment, whether the mare presses on this campaign or whether he potentially backs off and looks towards spring.
"Even if she won on Saturday, if we want to go down the path of something like the Winter Championship Final, she might not have enough ratings points to get in that, so we'll have to have a look at that," he said.
"Possibly there may be a race in Sydney for her.
"We'll just get over Saturday first before we make any set plans."
Begg believes races between 1400m and 1600m are ideal for Splash Back, with the mare's acceleration an asset for her.
"She's got a very good turn of foot," Begg said.
"She can reel off some very quick sections in her races, given the circumstances of how the race pans out. She's done that on numerous occasions."