Caulfield’s Mick Price is finding it hard to separate the chances of his 2016 Coolmore Stud Stakes duo Extreme Choice and Flying Artie, but admits the former could be hard to hold off down the Flemington straight on Saturday.

Extreme Choice is top fancy to post a third Group 1 win in the 2016 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington this weekend on Derby Day. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Price chases his first win in the $500,000 Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington Racecourse on VRC Derby Day this weekend and will saddle-up two livewire hopes in the three-years-old sprint.

He is set to accept for both Not A Single Doubt colt Extreme Choice and Artie Schiller colt Flying Artie in the Coolmore Stud Stakes field on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Both horses ran well in track work at Caulfield on Tuesday impressing Price.

“There’s not a lot between them in their work, they worked on terms with each other but they weren’t asked to find out who was better,” Price told Racing Victoria.

The duo ran the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) quinella over the distance at Caulfield during the autumn and Price hopes they can repeat that feat in Saturday’s Coolmore Stud Stakes results.

Extreme Choice has raced twice since his Blue Diamond victory running eighth in the Golden Slipper before his first-up Moonee Valley win over the older horses in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) on September 30.

“It’s hard to go past Extreme Choice based on what he did over the last 200m in the Moir,” Price added.

Freshened-up since, Extreme Choice rises from 52kg that race to 57kg at set weights against a field of his own age in the Coolmore.

Also working against him is the fact no Coolmore Stud Stakes winner has come off a Moonee Valley run since Theatre backed-up from a Manikato Stakes third to win back in 1998.

Flying Artie meanwhile won his last start taking out the Group 3 Blue Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on October 12.

The last Caulfield graduate to win the Coolmore Stud Stakes was Sepoy (2011) who came off a win in the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1100m).

In pre-field Coolmore Stud Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au Extreme Choice is the $3.20 favourite, with Flying Artie at $7.50 for the win in futures.

Both youngsters are also still officially nominated for a run Saturday week back at Flemington on Emirates Stakes Day against an open-age field of sprint stars in the $1 million Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m).

Price said Extreme Choice was unlikely to back-up on successive Saturdays, but Flying Artie could line-up in the Darley Classic field alongside five-time Group 1 winning stablemate Lankan Rupee.

“Flying Artie may back up and run against Lankan Rupee,” he said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Flying Artie was competitive with Lankan Rupee, Lankan Rupee is still getting fitter after a long break.

“The Darley will bring Lankan Rupee on fitness-wise and he’ll be cherry ripe when he gets to Perth to run in the Winterbottom.”

Flying Artie currently pays $13 in all-in Darley Classic betting, led by the John O’Shea-trained Golden Rose winner Astern ($4.50) who is also nominated for the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

The $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) runs at Ascot on November 26 during Perth’s Summer Racing Carnival.

The 2016 Coolmore Stud Stakes field of final acceptors is set for release at 9:30am (AEDT) on Wednesday making now the time to back your early selections at their generous prices through [ladborkes].