"He was a sitting duck after that first quarter"

NEXT month's Great Southern Star is the main target for quality trotter Aldebaran Zeus.

Which path the stallion takes to the Grand Circuit event, however, is yet to be determined.

Speaking after Aldebaran Zeus' success in last night's Maori Mile in Bendigo, trainer Brent Lilley revealed he is yet to select the squaregaiter's next mission.

Planning to give Aldebaran Zeus one more start before the GSS, Lilley is weighing up the option of competing in Ballarat in a fortnight or waiting for a suitable race at Tabcorp Park Melton a week later.

The Great Southern Star is scheduled to be run in Melton on February 3.

"I will give him one more start before the Great Southern Star, but I haven't decided where that will be," Lilley said.

"Ballarat on the 21st and Melton a week later are the two options, but I'll see how he is this week before confirming plans.

"Queen Elida is heading in the same direction and the Melton race is the way for her."

Driven confidently by Chris Alford, Aldebaran Zeus was pushed forward to find the lead from barrier five.

Allowed to roll along at a steady tempo, Aldebaran Zeus scored by two metres from Hopeful Beauty and Sleepee, which dead-heated for second.

Covering the mile in 1:54.8, the son of Muscle Hill extended his record to 16 wins and 14 placings from 36 starts, including four Group Ones.

"He hadn't had much luck from second row draws lately, so we took luck out of the equation from the front line by putting the handle bars down at the start," Lilley said.

"He was a sitting duck after that first quarter in 26.8 seconds, but ran on strongly up the home straight."