The Lindsay ParkĀ stableĀ of Ben and J D Hayes harbour Group 1 ambitions for Gentleman RoyĀ after his first-up win at Sandown.
Having his firstĀ outingĀ since finishing out of the money at Moonee ValleyĀ inĀ October, Gentleman Roy rode the speed in taking out the Listed John Dillon Stakes (1400m) on Thursday.
Sent out the $3.30 favourite under Mark Zahra, Gentleman Roy scored a three-quarter length win from Dawn Passage ($7.50)Ā with Crosshaven ($7.50) a further 1-Ā¼ lengths away third.
Gentleman Roy has now won eight of his 16 starts and Lindsay Park has been careful in their placement of the gelding.
J D Hayes said the Group 1 The Doncaster (1600m) at Randwick in April was firmly in the stable’s mind along with a potential start inĀ the All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley the previousĀ month.
Stablemate Mr Brightside ran in the All-Star Mile before winning The Doncaster last year.
“We have mapped out a similar program to Mr Brightside into The Doncaster,” Hayes said.
“We think he’s a similar quality horse andĀ definitely hasĀ an engine underneath there.
“There’s also the All-Star Mile and I’d like to get people voting for him as well as Mr Brightside, it would be nice to have two in the race.
“He profiles like Mr Brightside and has a similar rating at the same stage.”
Gentleman Roy is a rising seven-year-old that has been an honest campaigner through his brief career, while Hayes said the gelding had taken time to mature.
But the co-trainer said the stable had been lucky by being able to point Gentleman Roy towards a race andĀ the geldingĀ would rarely disappointĀ them.
“We’ve got a pretty good campaign ahead for him and if he can continue ticking the boxes, we’re going to have a couple of happy owners,” Hayes said.
