Trainer Marc Conners believes the time is right for his progressive gelding Willaidow to take on bigger challenges, with hopes of securing a spot in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile by winning the Group 2 Ajax Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
The lightly raced six-year-old has only had eighteen career starts but has continued to develop, claiming victory in the Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) first-up this preparation—an outcome that didn’t surprise Conners.
“We were confident the horse had been going very well,” Conners said.
“That was a logical next step. On the day, everything went to plan, and then second-up, he was probably just a bit too fresh. He’s come on nicely since then.”
Willaidow finished fifth in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) last start, beaten 1.6 lengths, but was racing off a four-week break. Conners believes a quicker turnaround will work in his favor.
“He was probably a little too fresh second-up. He hadn’t run for four weeks and got fairly worked up before the race. That run has tightened him up, and we’re really happy with him going into this race third-up,” Conners said.
By Shamus Award, Willaidow has never raced beyond 1400m but has displayed early speed to lead over shorter trips. Conners is confident he’s ready to stretch out in distance with the Doncaster Mile as a long-term goal.
“We’ve been working towards this, so hopefully it’ll come together on Saturday. I suppose the Doncaster has been the long-term goal, but he’ll need to win impressively to take on that level of competition,” Conners said.
“It’s shaping up to be a very strong race this year. A lot of horses are targeting it, so he needs to be impressive and prove he can run out a strong 1500m to justify stepping up to the mile.”
“Last preparation, the more he raced, the better he performed. He used to go very hard early, but in his last six runs, he’s settled much better.”
“He’s adapting to racing better than ever and is now showing that he can settle on the speed even in fast-run races.”
Zac Lloyd has been booked to ride Willaidow at 54kg on Saturday, with the gelding currently rated an $8 chance in all-in betting.