Promising three-year-old Moon Stories will make the leap from a maiden at the Sapphire Coast to the Group 3 Spring Stakes during Newcastle's The Hunter raceday.

The horse is an $81 chance and the trainer can see why he's unloved in the market, but Bateup is not deterred.

Instead, she views Saturday as the first step towards the Derby next autumn.

Read more: Peter V'landys unveils bold vision for Kembla Grange

"We're going from a maiden to Group 3, it's a big step up in grade," Bateup said. "It is a bit of a throw at the stumps, but at the end of the day they're all three-year-olds and a few of these horses are in the same boat.

"I'm aiming high with him. I'd like to set him on a Derby path. We'll have to see whether he's good enough to measure up to that.

"I don't have any question marks about staying the trip, it will come down to class and whether he's good enough."

While Bateup has lofty ambitions for Moon Stories, he's not the only youngster with promise in the stable.

In a sign of the talent coming through, the trainer doesn't even rate him as her top prospect.

It's a crop that includes three-year-olds Densaur and Bomber Bird, and two-year-olds Gunnaheadovski and Vain Invader, Bateup hoping the horses develop into city-grade runners.

"I have a big team of two-year-olds. All the ones that have come through the stable so far, I'm more than happy with the way they're developing.

"I don't like to push too hard too early, there's a few we're getting excited about, as long as they keep taking steps forward like we expect them to do."

Bateup has been emboldened by increasing success in recent years, Monegal recording the trainer's first Saturday-city winner last June.

She celebrated a breakthrough victory at Randwick on Melbourne Cup day when The Guru held on to claim a 2000m BenchMark 72.

Having enjoyed a taste of the cash on offer in Sydney, Bateup has placed a greater focus on identifying yearlings that can compete on a Saturday and in black-type races.

"Every year I'm trying to increase the quality of what I'm getting at the sales. I ended up with a big bunch of yearlings at the sales last year and they're a really nice crop of horses.

"As much as I love supporting country racing and I'm happy to place horses where they can win races, at the end of the day, when you're racing in town, you're getting a bit more exposure and the prizemoney is fantastic.

"I've learned a lot off Kerry Parker over the years, he's always been a very good trainer. He's always got a handy horse around him and he does a fantastic job placing his horses.

"The Prices have also built up a great stable with nice horses coming through, that's what I'll keep aiming to do, improving the quality of my group."

The Illawarra Mercury news app is now officially live on both iOS and Android devices. It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play.