Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott are eyeing a second crack at the group 1 Epsom Handicap with Fully Lit as the five-year-old returns from an injury lay-off at Rosehill on Saturday.

The Hellbent gelding, scratched from the group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) last week at Randwick, has not raced since finishing 11th in the $10 million Golden Eagle last November and then having surgery to remove a bone chip in his knee.

The Golden Eagle run ended a nine-start campaign which included finishing one and a half lengths second in the Epsom to Autumn Glow and third in the Cameron Handicap.

It also included a 1400m benchmark 78 handicap win on the Rosebud program last year, which broke an 18-month drought stretching to his $2 million Inglis Millennium victory.

Bott hoped for a repeat in the 1400m handicap, the ninth, on Saturday’s Rosebud meeting, but he believed the $8 (TAB) chance may need the run. Regan Bayliss rides from gate two.

“He had the three trials and a pretty decent build-up and maybe we just felt the Missile Stakes might have taken a bit of the sharpness out of him, racing at that grade against 1200m horses,” Bott said of the decision to wait for Saturday.

“So probably kicking off in a handicap over the 1400, it’s a better way to go for him, but he seems in good shape. But he is still going to need the racing, just with the length of time off that he’s had.”

Group 1 winner Attica ($4) also resumes in the race, while second-up Althoff ($3.60) and Rolling Magic ($5.50) were also in the market.

Bott was looking beyond Saturday’s race to the October 3 Epsom for Fully Lit, if he returns to his best.

“If we can get him back up to the mile, the Epsom was always planned,” Bott said.

“He ran really well in that 12 months ago. He was well weighted then, so if he can still be that handicap horse for us, it’s probably another target we’ll look at.”

Bott has higher hopes of success on Saturday with another five-year-old Steel Strike ($5), which contests the 1400m benchmark 78 handicap to finish the day. He chased down Felix Majestic to win a similar race two weeks ago at the track.

“We just felt keeping him at that grade, at that trip was probably suitable,” he said.

“Later in the prep we’ll probably look to step up to a mile, that’s probably as far as he stretches.

“The 1400 seems to fall right into his sweet spot and he seems to have done well since that win.”

Bott was unsure if Eviction Notice would contest the listed Rosebud after drawing the outside gate, but he liked his chances in race two, a 1300m benchmark 72 for three-year-olds, with Plagiarism ($4.80) and Savvy Diamond ($13).

Plagiarism was third on debut in the $1 million Golden Gift then unplaced in three runs, all in stakes grade, to fall short of the Golden Slipper field. Savvy Diamond is stepping up from a Goulburn maiden win on August 3.

“He’s come back well. I think he’ll be all right at that trip first up, he’s just going to carry a bit of weight,” he said of Plagiarism.

“But he’s got a bit of class. And I think the filly won well, even though it was at Goulburn ... She’ll appreciate getting out over further. She’s pretty well weighted with the true weight, so that might be her chance there.”