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By Ray Hickson

They’re both free running types and they’re next-door neighbours and trainer David Pfieffer says what Oh Diamond Lil and Whinchat also have in common is they’re set to run big races fresh at Scone on Saturday.

Oh Diamond Lil has only had a two month break since she scored at Randwick on February 8 but in Whinchat’s case he’s coming off a 14 month absence due to a strained ligament behind a knee.

Four-year-old mare Oh Diamond Lil has come of age this season winning three of her past four starts and Pfieffer said the Lion Handicap (1300m), where she was $3.40 with TAB on Thursday, is well with her reach.

“She’s always promised to do a lot and in her first preparation she was probably a bit disappointing,’’ he said.

“Last preparation she made up for it and I think she is still improving. We’re still going to see the best of her next season.

“I think she will start off well, she’ll go through her grades again and at some stage she will probably get herself to stakes level.”

It may be a coincidence that the stablemates are housed next to each other at Pfieffer’s Warwick Farm stable, given their similar racing styles, but he said the pair have had excellent build ups to make positive returns.

Oh Diamond Lil wins a Warwick Farm trial on April 29

Since her success over a mile at Randwick two months ago, Oh Diamond Lil has won two barrier trials over 1200m by big margins and Pfieffer’s expectation is that she’ll hit the ground running.

“There’s no holding her back, there’s no stopping her, and I think it will be the same on Saturday,’’ he said.

“They’ve got the good grounding and lead up to run good races first-up and a good string of races to have a nice preparation.

“If Oh Diamond Lil can tell Whinchat to be calm in the barriers it’d be appreciated.”

Whinchat’s journey back to the races has been a slower one, he hasn’t raced since beating Tavi Time at Rosehill in March last year, but he's had three trials to get his fitness up for the Listed $200,000 Scone Equine Luskin Star Stakes (1300m).

The five-year-old has won six of his 12 starts and Pfieffer’s main question mark isn’t around his fitness but what pressure he might be forced to absorb.

“I’m not overly concerned about the barrier, it’s just who is going to apply the pressure is my only concern,’’ he said.

“With a horse like him he’s got no stop button. If Molly Bourke (on Uzziah) and Adam Hyeronimus (on The Instructor) want to be speed demons we might have a very fast run race.

“The horse is in great order and he’s only going to get better through his campaign.

“Older horses take a bit of time to get over a setback but he’s had the groundwork and it’s a great starting point on a nice big track.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Scone meeting