Can The Bopper turn around his form at Eagle Farm on Saturday?

Kris Lees feels he can, banking on a firmer surface aiding him to return to the winning list.

Lees has sent The Bopper north to his Gold Coast base, and Larry Cassidy will ride him in the Open Handicap (1200m).

The four-year-old won three of his first four starts, including the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick in October, 2020 as a three-year-old, but hasn't been successful since last December when he turned in a brilliant performance first-up under 60kg in a Benchmark 78 Handicap (1000m).

The Bopper has been placed once from six subsequent appearances, and hasn't raced since finishing seventh in the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m) at Randwick on June 11.

But he won a 1000m trial, admittedly against only three rivals, at Scone 18 days later and Lees entered him for yesterday's $200,000 Listed Ramornie Handicap (1200m) at Grafton.

However, he opted to head further north to instead focus on an Eagle Farm assignment on Saturday.

"The Bopper is in great order, and I think the better surface at Eagle Farm will be to his liking," Lees said this afternoon.

Lees also runs Endorphins (Jim Byrne) at the meeting, in the Benchmark 72 Handicap (2200m).

"He has been racing well in Queensland, and is not without a chance," he said.

. It was a long way from a Group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup, but Our Candidate's return to the winning list at the Grafton carnival yesterday in a Rural Class 6 Plate (2200m) was especially pleasing for his trainer.

A $1.30 hotpot, the English import notched his first victory in nearly three years after overcoming an injury to the same tendon twice.

Our Candidate was a promising stayer in 2019 and won three of four starts before going out a $2.90 favorite when third to Hush Writer in that year's Newcastle Cup (2300m).

He has raced only a dozen times since because of his tendon problems, and has gradually improved this time in work with placings at each of his previous three starts in Sydney.

"Given all he has been through, it was very pleasing to get him back into the winning list yesterday," Lees said.

"He will come home tonight, and we'll look for another suitable race for him.

"Whilst obviously he isn't as good as he was a few years back, he is sound at present and racing well."