While Mike Moroney will be trackside at Randwick on Saturday, with Tivaci lining up the T.J. Smith Stakes, he will be keeping a keen eye on improving galloper War Legend in the Golden Mile at Bendigo.

The son of Rip Van Winkle showed promise as a three-year-old last autumn and after a seven-month lay-off, Moroney says he has returned in even better order.

War Legend was beaten a nose by stablemate Strike Force most recently at Flemington, and although the four-year-old is now third-up and ready to fire, a sticky gate in Saturday's feature makes the task more difficult.

"His two runs up the straight this time in proved to me he is much improved on his campaign before," Moroney said at Flemington on Friday morning.

"I'm very happy with him going into Saturday's race.

"It's just a bit of a tough barrier draw.

"He'll have to go back and hopefully get a bit of cover, because he can get over-racing at times.

"A little bit of cover would be nice but it will be hard to get from that draw."

In the A$150,000 Golden Mile, War Legend is currently rated a $12 chance, with the Darren Weir-trained Burning Front at the top of the CrownBet market.