David Hayes believes he has a future autumn star on his hands in Galaxy Pegasus but admits he is tempted to raise the bar perhaps as early as next week.
The colt got the better of Law in a tight and deceptive finish to win Saturday’s Group Three Telstra Phonewords Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.
Galaxy Pegasus – Photo by Sarah Ebbett
Immediately after the race, Hayes said Galaxy Pegasus would be stepped up in distance to the 1400 metres of the Sandown Guineas next month.
A few minutes later the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) came into play.
“It is very tempting after seeing they ran a faster time than they did in the Manikato last night,” Hayes said.
“I’ll just see how he pulls up. It is a big thing to ask him to back up in seven days.”
Galaxy Pegasus recorded 1:09.94 compared to Lankan Rupee’s 1:10.33 in the Manikato.
The colt was the popular elect with punters who backed him in from $4.60 to $3.90 and Damien Oliver positioned him just behind the leaders.
Law ($10) was up near the lead early but had to come off the fence to make his run while Galaxy Pegasus came wide.
There was a half head between the pair.
Oliver said Galaxy Pegasus was a star of the future.
“He’s a magnificent type and he’s going to develop into a beautiful horse, I think,” he said.
“He’s still putting it together and I was a bit scared by Law, who flew through on the inside, but he managed to hold him off.”
Law’s trainer Chris Waller said he was uncertain where the colt would go next.
“It’s hard to go to the Coolmore,” Waller said.
“There is a 1400 metre race on Emirates day in two weeks that we will look at but there’s not a lot more for him this spring.”
