Champion jockey James McDonald believes his mount in Saturday’s 2016 Coolmore Stud Stakes Astern is up to the challenge of defeating the likes of Extreme Choice and Capitalist in the Derby Day sprint showdown.

The $500,000 Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) may have attracted just 10 final acceptors, but the depth of the three-years-old sprint down the famous Flemington straight couldn’t be classier.

It challenges the Victoria Derby as the best race on the opening Melbourne Cup Carnival meeting’s card and right up there in the mix for the win is the John O’Shea-trained Astern.

A nicely-bred and well-performed son of Medaglia D’Oro, Astern is a colt McDonald admits gives him goosebumps.

“I get goosebumps talking about him,” McDonald told Racing Victoria two days out from the race.

“He’s good. He’s in good form.”

McDonald has been aboard the Godolphin-raced youngster for all but one of his seen starts, including four of his five career wins.

His biggest turf triumph came two back at Rosehill when beating home Chris Waller’s smart filly Omei Sword by 2.3 lengths in the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m).

Last time out Astern dropped in distance and lined-up at Randwick on October 1 to run a brave second only a long neck off the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Russian Revolution in the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m).

The undefeated Russian Revolution is among Astern’s Coolmore Stud Stakes rivals in this weekend’s rematch, the Snitzel colt out to win his fifth win from five starts and his third at the distance.

Despite the imposing form and the fact that the past three Coolmore Stud Stakes winners came off a Roman Consul Stakes – including two to do the double – Russian Revolution is at juicy odds of $12 through Ladbrokes.com.au for the weekend.

Astern meanwhile occupies the second line of Coolmore Stud Stakes betting at $3.90 to post a win in his Melbourne debut, and McDonald believes he’ll handle the notorious Flemington “straight six”.

“He’s trialled up the straight, so he should’ve got good experience from that,” the hoop said.

The only runner shorter than him in the latest Coolmore Stud Stakes odds is the Mick Price-trained Extreme Choice ($3.30) vying for his third elite level success and coming off the Moir Stakes win at the Valley over the older sprinters.

Among the other runners Astern is out to beat are Price’s Blue Sapphire Stakes winner Flying Artie ($12) with the rails run who is twice placed in Group 1 company, Team Snowden’s Golden Slipper winner Capitalist ($10) and Star Turn ($4.50) who has won two of his past three starts in Sydney.

“He’s taking on a very good line-up of three-year-olds, and he’ll have to be very good to beat them, but I think he’s a very good horse,” McDonald added.

“He developed really well from his two-year-old to his three-year-old season, and his two-year-old season was brilliant, so it was a scary thing to witness.

“I trialled him before the Golden Rose, and I thought, ‘He’s developed mentally and physically’.

“The mentally bit was always going to be the issue, because he was a flighty two-year-old, but he’s a man now.

“He’s going to be taking on some exceptional sprinters, but I think he’s up to it.”

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