Dubai: Having run with credit in some of Australia’s biggest races, Team Godolphin’s Hauraki bids for a maiden Group 1 victory in Brisbane’s 200 metre Doomben Cup, one of the highlights of the two-month long Queensland Winter Racing Carnival.

A winner of his first two juvenile starts, the Darley-bred four-year-old’s finest hour came in the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes in 2014,

Trainer John O’Shea’s charge has been knocking at the door for quite a while and was also a noteworthy third in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup behind the mighty Khan last October.

“Hauraki has been a very honest horse for us right from the start,” said O’Shea. “He’s also a Group 2 winner and a Derby placegetter and he’s run well in some of this country’s best races, so he deserves a Group 1 against his name.

“He ran very well last start, he had to make a very long run and it just told a bit at the end.

“But he’s drawn ideally this time and we’ll put the blinkers on just to help him focus better.”

He faces nine rivals in Saturday’s contest including Volkstok’n’barrell, a winner of two Group 1 races at the distance and Eebz, an impressive scorer at the Gold Coast.

Hauraki, who will be ridden by Godolphin’s retained rider in Australia, James McDonald, will be joined by stable companion It’s Somewhat (Damian Browne) in what will be his seventh Group 1 outing.

It’s Somewhat, who finished third behind Mukhadram in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes in the UK, is a three-time winner in Australia.

His most recently success came in the Group 3 Neville Sellwood Stakes at Rosehill in March.

“It’s Somewhat was wide all the way in the Hollindale and got into a bit of trouble at a vital time, so it wasn’t a bad result,” O’Shea said.

Godolphin’s Australian stable will also be represented at Doomben by Ambience in the Group 2 The Roses.

A two-time classic runner, Ambience’s best performance came when she was second in the Group 1 ATC Oaks in early April.

Since then she has been trained at Godolphin’s Osborne Park complex.

“She looks better after being at the farm for a few weeks, she seems very happy and she has enough residual fitness to run well,” O’Shea said.

Godolphin’s Brisbane hopefuls also include Archive, a two-year-old son of Helmet, who runs in the Listed Hampden Stakes following a luckless, debut effort last time out when third at Rosehill.

The Queensland Winter Racing Carnival, which runs from April 16 to July 2, features over 60 Black Type Races including 8 Group 1’s, 10 Group 2’s and 14 Group 3’s.