Naval College is being given an opportunity to stake his claim for a Queensland Winter Carnival campaign when he lines up this weekend at Gosford.
The import, prepared by Annabel and Rob Archibald, will take his place in the $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) on Saturday.
This Listed race will mark the second outing of the campaign for the six-year-old, who resumed in the Group 3 JRA Plate (2000m) at Randwick on April 19, where he finished fourth behind Bois D’Argent. Annabel Archibald says the race at Gosford is a great test to see whether he deserves a shot at a northern campaign.
“He was fourth behind Bois D’Argent first-up in the JRA Plate, so he’ll strip fitter and up another 100 metres on a tight, leaderish track suits him as well,” Archibald said.
“We’ll see how he goes, but he’s another horse who could make his way up here.”
Stablemates Fawkner Park and Bois D’Argent are confirmed starters in the $500,000 Group 2 Hollindale Cup (1800m) at the Gold Coast on the same day.
The Archibalds head into this weekend’s races on the back of a strong showing at Eagle Farm, where they landed the Victory Stakes with Libertad and the Queensland Guineas with Depth Of Character.
Naval College featured during last year’s Queensland Winter Carnival but struggled with wet tracks, including a heavy defeat in the Hollindale Cup on a Heavy 10 surface, something Archibald says they’ve taken into account this time around.
The Gosford surface was rated a Soft 7 early in the week, although forecasts suggest the track should improve by Saturday with little rain expected.
“He doesn’t want wet ground, we probably learnt that the hard way in the Hollindale last year with him,” she said.
“But on a fast track up to a mile-and-a-half, he’s a Group horse. He’s probably not a top-line horse, but he’s a handy horse.”
Naval College will carry 57kg in the Gosford Gold Cup, with Klondike allocated topweight of 59kg, followed by New Endeavour (58kg) and Hezashocka (57.5kg).