Rock On ready for group one debut

Rock On

CONNECTIONS of the black-type winner Rock On are agonisingly-close to a group one opportunity.

They face a nervous wait to see if their five-year-old can beat the ballot for a spot in Saturday’s Windsor Park Plate, where the horse is currently 15th on the order of entry.

There are 14 horses that are set to saddle up for Saturday’s feature, and trainer Gary Vile said it would be the ideal race for his horse.

“He’s in great order and he can run in the 2000m race on the same day, but I don’t want him to get too dour too soon and would much rather see him in the mile,” Vile said.

The Windsor Park Plate is viewed as a better means to an end with the Group One Livamol Classic on October 7 seen by Vile, who produced Ransomed for an upset win in the race in 2013, as Rock On’s best chance of group one success.

“That will suit him much better, getting up to a trip at his third start,” he said.

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Rock On was successful in the Listed New Zealand St Leger in the autumn, in a victory that earned it a trip across the Tasman.

The horse finished third in the Group Three Chairman’s Handicap at Randwick in its Australian debut and then again ran third at Flemington over 2500m.

Following a break, Rock On had two trials in August and the horse resumed on the opening day of the Hawke’s Bay carnival to finish a tidy sixth over 1600m.

“I was pleased with him,” Vile said.

“He was doing his best work at the end, although the gloss was taken off his run by the winner Wait A Sec, who was huge.

“My horse pulled up brilliantly and we couldn’t be happier with him.”

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