The duo could meet in the Caulfield Stakes on October 8 and then a fortnight later in the nation's top weight for age race, the Cox Plate, and Rawiller is certainly not backing away from the challenge.

"Bring it on, I can't wait," Rawiller said as he summed up the Darren Weir trained gelding's impressive win in the Underwood, where he was backed into $2.20 favouritism and scored by two and a half lengths from He Or She ($12) with the NSW trained mare Lucia Valentina ($5.50) third.

Rawiller, who had hurt his leg in a stalls incident earlier in the day,  is not the only rider who thinks the former WA trained star could give Winx the sort of battle she hasn't had in a long time.

Champion Craig Williams rode the Underwood runner-up, and said afterwards: " … the winner was awesome today. They went a real good horse's gallop. The winner sprinted, my horse stayed on for a good second."

Can he take on Winx, Williams was asked.

"He can, I tell you what, that was such a good test, they went that fast, and it (Black Heart Bart) accelerated where other horses would be one paced. That horse has a sense of timing about him."

Black Heart Bart does indeed have a sense of destiny about him. Few horses are capable of winning at group 1 level in hotly contested 1200-metre sprints and stretching out to the Cox Plate's 2040-metre trip, but if any horse can, then the son of Blackfriars might just be the one.

Asked about the clash with Winx,  Weir gave a trademark shrug of the shoulders and grin.

"You have to take them on at some stage. It's good to see him run through the line like that. I never had any doubts about the 1800, I thought he would run really well.

"She's the best horse in the country, but he's in the right shape now.

"She's probably too good, but you never know. We have been a bit harder on him between last start to today. He's come on good, that will have him really up to the mark now.

"He's just a bloody great horse … a tough, honest horse, he doesn't know how to run bad. They (good, tough horses) get sick, they get over it in two days instead of two weeks," said Weir.

The trainer could well have been celebrating a group 1 double had Voodoo Lad got clear in time to snatch the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, but as things stand the Weir yard has now won three of the group 1 races contested so far in Melbourne this spring and finished second in the other.

Black Heart Bart has won two – the Underwood over 1800 metres and the Memsie Stakes over 1400 metres, while Palentino took out the 1600-metre Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington, beating Black Heart Bart in the process.

He ended Saturday with three winners, Royal Rapture having scored early in the day while Hellbent took the last.