Sunday’s Sandown Stakes looms as a fork in the road for talented four-year-old Golden Path.

Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the lightly raced gelding needs to measure up in the race if he’s to justify the lofty goals his stable has for him.

Golden Path will head into the Group 3 feature second-up, after he was defeated as a short-priced favourite first-up over 1300m.

“He’s really come on since his first-up run,” Kent Jnr said.

“To be fair, we probably ran him over a trip short of his best and it just found him out; he kept closing hard. It was the ideal first-up run without winning and because of that, he’s really trained on the right way. We’re delighted with the way he’s moving, the way he’s galloping.

“This is sort of the race where we need to win, if not run very well, to get our rating up a fair bit and hopefully sneak into the Toorak.”

The younger member of the training partnership knows that Sunday’s task won’t be easy for Golden Path, as he’ll take on smart Queenslander Antino, who was desperately unlucky at Flemington last time.

“Being realistic, if Antino brings his best, he’s extremely hard to beat and I don’t see why he wouldn’t bring his best,” Kent Jnr said.

“He’s drawn to get a trouble-free run on a big, spacious track, he’s a very promising, progressive horse, who seems to win very regularly.

“He’ll be very, very hard to beat.”

Sportsbet has Antino at $1.65, while Golden Path is the third pick in their market at $5.50.

The Price and Kent Jnr stable will also saddle up a pair of handy three-year-olds on Sunday in Hedged and Extreme Threat.

Hedged will contest the Evergreen Turf Handicap over 1000m after finishing fourth in the G3 McNeil Stakes behind Veight at his latest outing.

“We have just reset him back to 1000m,” Kent Jnr said.

“The horse has done really well; he’s really come on in the coat. With a nice, free flowing ride, just to see him do everything right and as long as he handles the dip at Sandown, he’s a nice, each-way chance.”

Hedged is the favourite for the second event at Sandown at $2.90 with Sportsbet.

As for Extreme Threat, she’ll line up in a 1400m event for three-year-old fillies, where she’ll be ridden by Jamie Kah.

The daughter of Extreme Choice ran fifth in the Blue Diamond Stakes earlier this year and broke her maiden status upon her return to the track last time.

“She was very brave first-up, she got caught three deep, no cover, the entire way and held on nicely,” Kent Jnr said.

“She’s not a big, robust filly, so we train her a bit lighter, but I must say, her gallop on Tuesday morning was sensational.

“I think she’ll appreciate the big track, she’s a long-striding filly and the rise to 1400m should pose no problems, it should actually be a benefit to her. I think in a very even race, she’s a lovely top-three chance.”

Sportsbet has Extreme Threat at $5.50 for the fourth race at Sandown on Sunday.