Starlight Stakes fancy Zealously has been a pleasant surprise for connections.

Kicking off the career of a stakes-class thoroughbred in provincial and midweek company is often a case of smart placement by a trainer.

The more races a horse can win on their way through the grades, the less expenses incurred by their owners.

However, in the case of Saturday's Starlight Stakes (1100m) favourite Zealously, the sprinter's modest starting point reflected Peter Snowden's initial opinion of him, one the trainer happily revised.

"To be honest, I placed him where I thought he was at, but he just keeps improving and improving," Snowden said.

"Last preparation he took a big leap. He ran fourth to Private Harry in the Sunlight and he ran very well.

"He came back and won again after that and I thought, you're a stakes horse now."

After setting a 1000m track record at Warwick Farm first-up, Zealously made his black type debut with an encouraging second to Rey Magnerio in the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1000m) on October 18.

He was due to contest The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange last weekend but was scratched mid-meeting when consistent race led to a track downgrade.

Snowden said the gelding took the missed run in his stride, and while he has had a longer than anticipated gap between runs, the trainer doesn't expect that to affect Zealously's performance at Rosehill.

"He has been five weeks between runs, and he needs to get back to the races," he said.

"Normally, I would have definitely barrier trialled him in between but now that this has happened, it limits what you can do.

"But I'm still happy with him. His work was great (Tuesday) morning, and he looks fantastic. I'm not worried about his condition or on him getting away from me at all."

Provided Zealously runs to expectations, he will press on to the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) next month with the Magic Millions Sprint (1200m) a possible long-term target.