After recapturing the form that saw him contest the Group 1 Australian Cup Final earlier this year, Captain Larry is ready to pull rank on his Meadows rivals on Saturday night in pursuit of a fourth straight win.

Trained by Million Dollar Chase winner Brendan Pursell, Captain Larry burst into the spotlight when upsetting champion Wow She’s Fast in an Australian Cup heat.

He ran a meritorious fourth in the final, but the son of Hall Of Famer El Grand Senor then won only once in his next seven outings, finishing out of the placings five times.

“He’s hit his straps again, but I think the picket fence might come to an end on Saturday.”

But Captain Larry has bounced back to win his past three, the last two at The Meadows (29.94sec and 30.14sec), where he’s won five from 13 overall.

However, Pursell concedes Captain Larry will have his work cut out extending his winning streak in a hot FFA sprint (race 8, 8.58pm), which shapes as a ‘mini Group 1’.

Sportsbet has marked Captain Larry at $7 from box seven, where he’s drawn between two huge threats in Baby Jaycee (box 6) and Big Energy (box 8), which head betting at $3 and $3.10, respectively.

“He’s hit his straps again, but I think the picket fence might come to an end on Saturday,” Pursell said honestly.

“He hit a patch there – I’m not sure why – where he wasn’t jumping as good and he is a dog that needs to be on the pace, but he’s had a few clear runs and got a bit of confidence back.

“But if Baby Jaycee hits the lids, she’ll lead him, and Big Energy will like it out there where he wants to be. Paddy Wants Pats is the other one.

“It’s a hard race. If Captain Larry gets up on the pace and runs his 29.80sec they’ll find it hard to run him down but it’s the same story if one of the others is out in front running time.

“I didn’t worry about taking him up to Brisbane; I thought he could win three or four races while the good dogs are up there, but good dogs keep coming out of the woodwork!”

Pursell is advising punters looking for his best chance on Saturday night to keep their powder dry and finish the night on a winning note with Tan And Black (box 2) in race 12 (10.12pm).

Runner-up in the G3 Vic Bred Maiden series during the Australian Cup Carnival, Tan And Black is the $2.70 second elect to record his fifth career victory at start 12.

“I have got a bit of an opinion of him,” Pursell offered.

“He’s just a little bit tardy early; that’s his problem. But in his last couple of runs he’s started to work it out  – his run last week was terrific and the run before that was very good too.

“Box two should be perfect and I’m pretty confident with him. I’d say he’s my best chance on Saturday .”

Pursell’s other runner at The Meadows is five-start maiden Stafford Lava (box 6), a $27 outsider in the opening event.