One of the sport’s most exciting staying prospects, Electrify, faces a major test on Thursday night at Sandown Park when he lines up in a heat of the Group 1 Sandown Cup.

The Greg Doyle-trained stayer has quickly built a reputation as one of the fastest dogs in the country over the longer distances, but heads into Thursday night looking to bounce back after a luckless defeat in New South Wales last start when beaten as favourite in Group 1 company.

Electrify has drawn box three in the opening Sandown Cup heat – race five on the card – where he will clash with reigning staying star Magpie Hector in a race packed with quality.

“He has had a couple of opportunities and things haven’t gone his way, but hopefully he can elevate himself because we know how much ability he has,” Doyle said on SEN Track.

Following two months on the road, Electrify returned to Victoria and trialled at Sandown on Friday in difficult weather conditions.

“I trialled him around lunch time hoping the track would dry out a bit, but it turned out the opposite,” Doyle said.

“As I was walking around to the 700 boxes for a 500-metre trial, it started pouring rain and the wind picked right up, which he had to run into twice.”

Despite the heavy conditions, Doyle was pleased with the performance.

“The time was nothing like when he won there previously, but given the state of the track and the weather, it was still a pretty decent trial.”

Thursday night marks the beginning of Sandown’s highly anticipated Trilogy series, with heats of the Group 1 Sandown Cup, Harrison-Dawson and Sapphire Crown set to headline a massive night of racing.