Trainer Chris Waller has no reservations about entering Horologist directly into Group company following a maiden win, with the aim of assessing the colt’s potential as an autumn carnival contender.
The colt, by established stallion Written Tycoon and out of Group 1 winner In Her Time, commanded a $1.8 million price tag as a yearling. Owned by a Coolmore-led syndicate focused on stallions, he needs to quickly establish his place in the pecking order.
“He’s a Coolmore colt, they’re only interested in the top league in terms of making stallions,” Waller explained. “It’s not a stallion-making race, but he has to be competitive, otherwise they get traded pretty quickly to Hong Kong, or here in Australia. We’ll get him at this level, see where he’s at and work out whether he’s a Guineas horse in the autumn.”
After securing placings in his first two winter starts, Horologist returned with an impressive 1400m victory at Warwick Farm last month.
While his pedigree leans towards speed, Waller noted that the manner of his maiden win suggests he can cope with a 200-metre increase in distance.
“He was a really good winner first up and it was good to see,” he said. “He steps up to a mile and a Group Three race, but the way he won would suggest he can take that step. He’s well bred, he’s a good looking horse. They’re horses who can take the step pretty easily.”
Annabel and Rob Archibald will also use Saturday’s Spring Stakes (1600m) as a crucial indicator for the unbeaten Prince Of Verona.
The Castelvecchio gelding has progressed through wins at Bathurst, Goulburn, and a midweek race at Warwick Farm, and connections are keen to see how he performs against stakes-level competition.
“I just love the way he’s improved, and every time we’ve asked him to do a bit more, he has,” Rob Archibald commented. “He’s got himself out of trouble once or twice on the way to here, and he’s picked himself up and finished off really well. I think he’s a really nice horse that is still a long way from the finished article. I’m excited to see him against some Saturday grade horses and we’ll get a really good line on where he fits into his age group.”
With Consulate a late scratching, a field of nine runners will contest the Spring Stakes, including Horologist’s stablemate Katoto, who is the sole filly in the line-up.
Compare the latest racing odds for the Spring Stakes at betting markets for the race.