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Queanbeyan trainer Neville Layt has a Heritage Stakes crown to defend and he’s confident he’s unearthed a horse capable of giving him back-to-back wins in the race.

Layt has tasked impressive three-year-old Red Excitement with emulating the impressive triumph of former stablemate Karuta Queen in the $100,000 race last year.

And should the son of Excites run up to Layt’s expectations, he could follow in the spring footsteps of Karuta Queen and head down to Melbourne.

“Hopefully Red Excitement might take the same path as Karuta Queen,” Layt said.

“If he goes all right we’ll look at a few races down in Melbourne. I think he’s a horse that’s going to go a long way.”

Layt is eyeing off a potential start in the Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) at Randwick next month or the Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield a week later, and could even aim as high as the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes on Victoria Derby day at Flemington.

But first he needs to perform in the Heritage and if the three-year-old’s resuming win at Canberra late last month is any indication, Layt could be in for another big day.

“He’s an exciting horse, he won with a little bit of authority [at Canberra] first run back from a spell and he’s developed up into a nice horse, he could go a long way,” Layt said.

“I trialled him a fortnight beforehand and Grant Buckley rode him in the trial.

“Grant said ‘I ride a lot of Darley’s good horses and I would hold him in the same category as them’. He said this horse is a very serious horse.

“He said he’s running time, but he doesn’t feel like he’s doing it and there was only one other horse that I had that could do that.

“His time was very good he was just outside the course record and he wasn’t pushed.”