A desire to test Autumn Boy as a potential Cox Plate horse in the spring has convinced Chris Waller to extend the colt to 2000 metres for the first time in the Rosehill Guineas.
The three-year-old was also being considered for the George Ryder Stakes (1500m) on Saturday’s Golden Slipper program, and while the presence there of unbeaten stablemate Autumn Glow would have been a sticking point, Waller said the decision to tackle the Guineas wasn’t about dodging her.
“We could have gone the shorter option for him and run into Autumn Glow in a George Ryder and Doncaster, and we could still go to a Doncaster,” Waller said.
“But I want to know whether he is a solid, 2000-metre horse to see whether he’s in a Cox Plate when he comes back in the spring.”
Autumn Boy is a Group 1 winner of the Caulfield Guineas over a mile, and in two campaign runs has finished third to Ninja in the Hobartville Stakes (1400m) and second to rising star Sheza Alibi in the Randwick Guineas (1600m).
With co-trainer Peter Moody confirming that filly will press on to the Doncaster Mile (1600m), Sheza Alibi won’t be a stumbling block at Rosehill, where Waller is expecting Autumn Boy to strip much fitter for his two campaign runs.
“He ran into a pretty smart one last week, but he will be ready to peak as well third-up,” he said.
While Waller employed blinkers on Autumn Boy last preparation, he hasn’t used them this time in and confirmed they won’t be going on for Saturday.
Autumn Boy will be bidding to emulate the feat achieved by his sire, The Autumn Sun, who claimed the 2018 Caulfield Guineas and returned to following year to add the Rosehill Guineas.
Waller confirmed stablemate Providence, who finished seventh in the Randwick Guineas, would bypass Saturday’s Group 1 and head to the second tier races of the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 4 and Frank Packer Plate (2000m) a fortnight later.
