The trainer for Feroce, Dominic Sutton, intends to remain non-committal on the gelding’s autumn program until gauging his return to racing at Caulfield.

Having claimed the Group 1 Australian Guineas in the prior year, the gelding lines up first-up in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1400m) this coming Saturday.

How Feroce performs upon resumption will guide his future racing route.

In contemplation for Sutton are events including the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) on February 21 at Caulfield, the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) next month at Flemington, plus the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) set for February 28.

“We haven’t made any set plans. We want to see how he returns first-up,” Sutton said.

“We’ll probably keep him to that 1400 metres, to a mile, but he has returned well.

“Potentially he could head to the Futurity, the All-Star Mile, but if we need to keep him a level down, there is also the Blamey at Flemington.

“The weather will dictate whether he goes to Sydney for a race like the Doncaster, but we’ll probably just target Victoria because we know how wet Sydney can get in the autumn.

“I’ll be dodging the wet tracks with him.”

Feroce enjoyed a solid launch to his spring campaign last time, achieving third position in Caulfield’s Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m), prior to fading to eighth in the Toorak Handicap and facing adverse wet going in the Sydney Golden Eagle.

“He had a really good start to the spring and in the Rupert Clarke, he was super, ran a peak performance that day, and then we got things tactically wrong in the Toorak,” Sutton said.

“We pressed forward from a wide gate, and he just couldn’t do it in that high pressure race, riding the speed and that pressure early.

“Then we took him to Sydney for the Golden Eagle. It rained on the day, it was a horrible track, horrible conditions.

“He needs a good surface, and it was literally a forget run.”

Sutton holds that Feroce excels between 1400m and 1600m, but could consider extending the gelding to 2000m anew.

On the one occasion he tackled 2000m before, Feroce placed sixth in the Group 1 Australian Cup of last year at Flemington.

“It was an afterthought and he was the youngest horse in the race and with Pride Of Jenni in the race, it was a stiff 2000 metres,” Sutton said.

“I have always thought he would be a 10-furlong horse, but he does seem to sprint quite well fresh.

“We’ll see which way he takes us, but there are plenty of options.”

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The post Sutton keeping an open mind with Feroce first appeared on Just Horse Racing.