Jones and partner Ellen Bartley line up the three-year-old at Ballarat on Saturday night.

Coming off a win at Leeton, Forever Yin has drawn three in the first of three heats of the time-honoured feature.

Jones hopes Forever Yin can take advantage.

"He's drawn pretty good and it is not a bad heat," Jones said.

"The last heat looks pretty strong so I was pretty happy I wasn't in that heat, but he's going pretty good.

"We will definitely still need a bit of luck to qualify, as the top four qualify, but I think if he does he will be better for next week.

"He hasn't had a run for 18 days or so, which is probably not ideal, but you can only do what you can do and he probably wasn't suited to going around at Temora or Parkes when there were alright races there for him.

"I think he is forward enough anyway and hopefully we get a nice run in transit to run in the top four."

Forever Yin raced the best last season when he finished ninth in the Vicbred Super Series final in July.

He's had a second at Shepparton and the Leeton win since then.

Jones was particularly pleased with his run on New Year's Day.

"He went super in both runs," he said.

"They only went steady early in his first start and Chris (Alford) just drove a good race and put the foot down when he saw me coming and made me chase but he still made up ground in that quick last quarter and at Leeton he was super.

"He's improved a bit of that too."

However he hasn't raced since with the Coleambally horseman not wanting to test the three-year-old on some of the tighter tracks.

"He could probably get around the real smaller tracks but he's a funny horse and I just didn't want him going to one of those tracks and doing something wrong leading up into that race," Jones said.

"If that race wasn't coming up you'd chuck him in and hope for the best but I would have kicked myself if he had of galloped or put out of the draw again.

"It just wasn't worth it."

Both the heats and the final of the race have been increased to 2700 metres this season.

However Jones believes the distance shouldn't be a problem with Forever Yin's usual racing pattern.

"I don't think it will worry him but we will find out," he said.

"Once he gets into his stride in the first 400 metres of a race he usually relaxes pretty good.

"As long as he's got a helmet to follow he will follow something all day, hopefully follow something into the straight and won't be too far off them."

Forever Yin is the only Riverina trained horse at Ballarat's feature meeting but there are plenty with Riverina connections.

Maajida and Be Happy Mach, who were named Australian two-year-old filly and two-year-old colt and gelding of the year last season, are resuming.

Maajida has drawn barrier six in the second Victoria Oaks heat while Be Happy Mach will start from 10 in the third Victoria Derby heat.

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