On the verge of a full-time switch to be stud manager at the family's Arrowfield Stud, group 1-winning trainer Messara  has only a select team of horses still in work at Scone.

But Scissor Kick rewarded that faith and booked himself a Golden Rose ticket along the way, in which his quote has now been slashed to $9 with TAB.com.au from $35.

"In the long term we'll probably keep two or three or a very small group in work," Messara said. "There's still a couple of nice ones coming through and this is obviously one we've had a nice opinion of.

"There's still an itch to scratch and I love training, but the job's at the farm now."

Scissor Kick chalked up his maiden win at start No.2 at Canterbury last month, but looked the part in the leap into stakes grade.

But his win has only muddied the picture for Sydney's first group 1 of the new season with Peter Moody's highly spruiked Better Land, Godolphin's Sarajevo and Gai Waterhouse's Nayeli having mixed fortunes in The Rosebud. Sarajevo remains the $7 Golden Rose favourite.

Better Land ($6) had a torrid run three wide without cover, but battled on for a gritty second as Sarajevo made some ground late  to finish fourth.

Peter and Paul Snowden's Inkling was a doubtful starter all week, but forged to the lead inside the final furlong before his 59-kilograms took its toll over the final stages as he finished third.

Waterhouse's foreman Mark Newnham fronted stewards over Nayeli's weakening seventh after she pulled up with respiratory noises. Nayeli wobbled in the betting ring too, drifting from $3.40 to $5.50.

"I can't explain the betting ring," Newnham said. "We had one on Wednesday [Echo Gal] that went out the gate and won. I had a ride on her about Wednesday or Thursday and she felt fine to me.

"Her work and trials have been fantastic. It [respiratory noises] probably explained it."

There were more glowing reports for Better Land, whose been trimmed into $11 for the Golden Rose after impressing in The Rosebud from a Sale maiden in April.

Favourite Sarajevo ($2.60f) was also having just his second start after a two-year-old maiden win, settling near the tail and impressing late, albeit never a winning chance.

"The team's very happy," Godolphin's head trainer in Australia John O'Shea said. "What was most impressive is he was so strong through the line. I'm looking forward to 1400 [metres] because it looks like it will just absolutely suit him."

But it could take nothing away from the effort of Scissor Kick ($6.50), mooted as a Caulfield Guineas contender, who angled for an inside run under Tye Angland and burst past a tiring Inkling ($5.50), now destined for a short let-up.

"He's a beautiful type and knows what he's doing," Angland said. "It's only his third time out on race day so he's got a lot of improvement. He's a nice horse and he's going to go a long way."

Arrowfield chief John Messara added: "He's got a stallion's pedigree and it's fantastic to see him do that and we'll go forward from there."