Four years after scoring an upset win in one of world racing’s most prestigious events, Serpentine will spearhead a two-pronged Metropolitan assault for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
The winner of the 2020 Epsom Derby in England at double-figure odds, Serpentine arrived in Australia two years ago, going on to establish himself as a handy stayer.
At Randwick on Saturday, the eight-year-old will attempt to turn back the clock when he chases the second Group 1 win of his career in the Metropolitan (2400m) after putting the writing on the wall with a solid fourth to stablemate Eliyass in the Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) last month.
“He did all the work and stuck on for a long way. He should relish the step up to 2400 metres here,” Bott said.
“I think they’re the right formlines coming into this race. He is well seasoned, well conditioned.
“He is an Epsom Derby winner, so he is coming here with plenty of credentials, and he is an honest chance for us.”
Stablemate Military Mission will line up in his second Metropolitan after finishing fourth to Just Fine last year.
Arriving at the race as the Newcastle Cup winner 12 months ago, this time around he has finished midfield in two preparatory runs, although Bott says his performances have been better than they read.
“His runs have been a bit hidden coming into this race,” Bott said.
“He has taken a while to get into gear and hit his peak in the preparation, and we are only just getting out to his ideal distance.
“He has drawn well (barrier one) to run a nice race for us, and he is improving at the right time.”
Waterhouse and Bott are chasing back-to-back wins in the Randwick feature after capturing it with Just Fine last year.
The horse many considered their best chance, Eliyass, won’t be there on Saturday, with the stable having opted to take him to Melbourne for the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) and a Caulfield Cup campaign.
“We felt we needed to get him down there sooner and give him the run in the Turnbull, which is a good (Caulfield Cup) lead-up,” Bott said.
“He went down last week. He’s in great shape. He worked at Flemington on (Tuesday) morning and worked well. “
