Persistent rain throughout the afternoon saw the track downgraded to 'slow' early in the meeting.

But it was not enough to prevent Cyclone Ned from showing his customary early dash from box 1 as he raced to a clear early lead.

From there, he was never threatened, racing away to win by 2.5lengths over Your Show Jake.

Prepared by Keysborough-based mentor Geoff Mitchell, it was Cyclone Ned's sixth victory in 16 starts at his home track.

Lynlea's King was equally impressive in his prelude, also leading all of the way, to win by 4.75 lengths in 30.05 seconds.

Kinka Bale won the night's opening prelude in 30.27 seconds, while Jamaican Bolt, and Lord Ducal were winners in 30.34 seconds and 30.28 seconds respectively.

The next Solo Melbourne Cup Prelude series will be run on Thursday, October 1.