Caulfield Guineas a potential target for Ryder Stakes winner
TRAINER Andrew Campbell wasn’t making any set plans for an Australian campaign with 2017 Ryder Stakes champion Waldorf, but he did mention a possible tilt at the Caulfield Guineas.
Two-year-old colt Waldorf was too good for its opposition in Monday’s rescheduled Ryder Stakes at Awapuni when beating Nuclear Fusion by just over a length after stalking the pace throughout.
The son of Highly Recommended hadn’t won since scored by 1.5 lengths on debut, but it had always shown ability at the top level and Campbell believes it could mature into a handy Melbourne spring three-year-old.
“He’s a very good horse,” Campbell said. “It’s early days, but we will be nominating him for the Caulfield Guineas, so we’ll see how he comes through this.”
Waldorf didn’t seem to handle the heavy track conditions overly well and looked beaten on the turn, but it showed why it was the $2.10 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au by finding an extra gear late.
“I don’t think he was handling it that well. I was a bit worried on the turn when the other one (Nuclear Fusion) kicked away, but he’s tough and he has a lot of ability this horse,” Campbell said.
“He can get lost on his own, so I was pleased when the other horse went with him.”
Campbell plans to target the HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas on September 9 before making more plans with the talented juvenile which turns three on Tuesday.
“We’ll nominate him for some nice races,” Campbell said. “This was what he was aimed for and we’ll now look towards the Wanganui three-year-old race then make a call from there.”
Winning jockey Johnathan Parkes sat just off the speed and let Waldorf finds its feet in the early stages. He tracked Nuclear Fusion into the straight and let the class take over late.
“He’s got a tonne of heart and he wasn’t happy with the track, but he’s proven to be too good anyway,” Parkes said.
“He’s been able to do the job well and he was well-represented by his connections.
“He’s a good horse going forward and he’ll make a nice three-year-old.”