Ethiopia is an unusual horse.

Unusually talented, unusually campaigned and, for a horse who has only one win to his name, he has earned an unusual amount of money.

And his trainer Pat Carey is tipping he can add to that $1 million figure in the Group One Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday.

"It looks tough, I know. But we're in there, fit and well," Carey said.

In a business where clinging to threads is a way of life, Carey is clinging to Ethiopia's fourth placing in last spring's Cox Plate.

"He was a half length behind Pierro at Moonee Valley, and gave him eight kilos," Carey said.

"On Saturday Pierro is giving us a kilo-and-a-half, so that's something."

In his only run since the Cox Plate, Ethiopia finished last in the Melbourne Cup.

In dealing with that disappointment, Carey and owner Trevor Delroy cling to a more solid theory.

Ethiopia hit his hip heavily on the barrier structure as he left the gates in the Cup and as a result he dropped out quickly over the final 300m after racing near the lead.

"We found a big gouge in his side," Carey said.

"It was no wonder he weakened out of it, he'd have been in some pain."

After the Cup Ethiopia returned to Delroy's farm near Yallingup in Western Australia for a good rest and some natural horse behaviour while connections pondered their next move.

The first decision they made was to wait until the trials of his springtime had cleared from Ethiopia's head and body.

"I think people are realising you can't dance every dance," Carey said.

"You can't chase every big race on the program."

Carey and Delroy concluded that Ethiopia would have one, late-autumn run, choosing the $2 million Doncaster for the horse whose only victory came at the same time last year on the same track in the Australian Derby.

Delroy has spent much of the time Ethiopia was with him in WA getting him over his Melbourne Cup injury and tending to his problematic feet.

"He's a very thin-soled horse and he has to be looked after or there can be problems, so he did a lot of beach work over here," he said.

Delroy also praised Carey whose patience, he said, suits Ethiopia.

And that quality is added to by the trainer's simple but sound view of the horse who has given him his greatest training success.

"You can't do any more than what's best for him," Carey said.

"You do that, and he'll do the same for us."