The cream of Sydney’s three-year-old colts will go head-to-head in The Run To The Rose and trainer Gerald Ryan is satisfied Peltzer deserves his place among them.
Peltzer made a belated appearance as a juvenile and posted three impressive wins in as many starts but he needed to prove he could take the next step to stakes level.
He did that with a solid first-up second behind runaway winner Anders in the San Domenico Stakes, beating home Golden Slipper placegetter Mamaragan who is among Saturday’s Rosehill rivals.
The pair comprise a select but quality field of seven in the Group Two The Run To The Rose (1200m) in which Group One-winning juveniles Farnan, King’s Legacy and Queenslander Rothfire all make their seasonal returns.
For Peltzer, the race is another stepping stone as he continues his march towards the $1 million Golden Rose.
Market 💰: View the Odds for the Run To The Rose
“These seven colts are probably the flag bearers here in Sydney,” Ryan said.
“He’s up there with them.
“I thought his first-up run was good. They were going fast up front and he was carting the others up to them.
“He probably got out of his comfort zone but there was one part of the race where he ran the best sectional.”
Peltzer was outsprinted over 1100 metres first up and Ryan expects him to take further improvement from Saturday.
Bivouac won the corresponding Golden Rose lead-up 12 months ago before going on to claim the Group One and this year’s renewal also looks the right springboard.
The seven horses contesting The Run To The Rose are the first seven in Golden Rose markets with Farnan a clear-cut favourite for both.
Ryan is less convinced there will be a standout among this year’s crop and says the best two-year-olds from last season still need to show they have come back as three-year-olds.
“They look to have come up good and they’ve got good form but they’ve got to prove it,” Ryan said.
If Peltzer can upset Farnan on Saturday, he will give Ryan and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou the first stakes win of their fledgling partnership.
The colt was a $7.50 chance with TAB fixed odds on Friday with Farnan holding sway as a $2.40 favourite, ahead of Rothfire ($4.40) and North Pacific ($4.60).
