Artorius knew that he had taken a hard race with his placing at Royal Ascot but will press on to a second assignment in the UK.
The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained sprinter finished third in the Group 1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on Saturday after have a tight passage over the final stages of the race.
Sam Freedman said the plan now was to head to the Group 1 July Cup (1200m) at Newmarket on July 9.
“He knew he had had the run,” Freedman told RSN of Saturday’s performance.
“He dropped probably nine kilos and left his first little bit of feed since he arrived, but then this morning he’d put on five or six kilos and had eaten up.
“He’s just had a hand walk so far, he’ll have a light trot and canter, an easy week and we’re looking forward to his next assignment.”
Freedman said those English style straight tracks with their uphill climb home better suited a horse like Artorius than the flatter tracks in Australia.
“The stiff finish does suit him as on the flat tracks in Australia, they get away from you and you don’t get that opportunity to get to the leaders,” Freedman said.
“At Flemington it can be difficult to run them down when you’re spotting them a start.
“That last 300 metres at Ascot, you find out if a horse runs a strong six furlongs, which we know he does and Newmarket is very similar, it’s a very stiff finish and he’ll be finishing hardest again.”
Freedman said when they left for the UK it was intended to have two starts on English soil before a return to Australia for the late part of the spring.
The Golden Eagle (1400m) at Rosehill and the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) at Flemington are two races Freedman said had been pencilled in for Artorius upon his return.
And there is every likelihood of Artorius returning to the UK next year for another tilt at the Platinum Jubilee Stakes where Freedman said he would be better weighted than this year.
