Payline due for a change of fortune in 2025 The Damien Oliver

Payline will continue his Melbourne mission this Saturday when he lines up at Flemington, with Chris and Corey Munce hoping the gelding’s fortunes finally turn after a run of hard-luck stories.

Since arriving in Victoria in late August, Payline has competed across multiple metropolitan tracks, each time running well without getting the clear run he needed to finish off.

The gelding now takes aim at The Damien Oliver (1400m) as his fifth start of the spring.

Craig Williams, who galloped Payline at Flemington during the week, takes the ride after Justin Huxtable and Blake Shinn partnered him in earlier runs.

“He’s had four runs down here and he’s run into a bit of traffic on all occasions,” Munce said.

“He’s in terrific order. He galloped well at Flemington on Tuesday morning and the big track over 1400 metres, I’m hoping it will suit him.”

Payline’s recent fourth in the Moonga Stakes confirmed his consistency, and Munce believes the horse is looking for this distance range.

“The 1400 metres probably suits, and he could get a mile, the way he is going,” Munce said.

A strong showing could see Payline back up into the Champions Mile, though the long-term goal remains a Queensland summer return.

“If he put them away very easily, maybe we could back-up, but he’s still got a few races ahead of him in Brisbane during the summer,” he said.

“He’s a Magic Millions horse. He won the $1 million syndicate race up there last year, so there’s plenty of races up there he can run in.”

Planning to bet on The Damien Oliver? Compare the latest markets at Australia’s best betting sites.