His trainer regards him as "a bit dopey", but he's also pretty good.

Primitive Man, who might be unlucky not to have won all of his four starts, came from last to score an impressive win in Saturday's Arthur Gauci Handicap (1200m) at Caulfield, justifying everything his trainer Shane Fliedner thought about him.

"He's still a bit dopey really, you could see how he was looking around all over the place," Fliedner said.

"But he's got a lot of ability and a really nice future."

Despite having shown plenty of promise, Primitive Man went out at odds of $61 and won like an odds-on chance.

"I was surprised at his price considering what he'd done last time in," Fliedner said.

"What he's done up to now is fantastic."

From last place in the 10-horse field at the 300m, he rounded up some handy gallopers to score by three-quarters-of-a-length from Beyond Infinity ($13) with a half-head to the $4.20 favourite Flamberge in third.

Primitive Man finished fifth at his first start to the talented Miss Soft Hands at Bendigo, won his next outing at the same track and then finished an unlucky second at Moonee Valley before going for a spell.

Fliedner had intended running Primitive Man in the Australian Guineas earlier in the autumn but he developed a hoof problem that ended his first preparation.

"I thought that much of him I would have given him a chance in a race like the Guineas," he said.

"But it took me a month to even get him to walk after he got crook."

Primitive Man will have another two runs this time in before being put away for the spring.