It’s not often James McDonald heads to Wyong on a Sunday for a race ride, but he did it for Steel Will, and will now test the colt as a carnival contender at Rosehill.
Steel Will didn’t go through the sales ring but is superbly bred being by I Am Invincible out of Pittsburgh Flyer, the dam of two-time Group 1 winner September Run.
Having demolished his Wyong rivals by more than six lengths, the three-year-old returns to town for Saturday’s Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap (1300m) and trainer Chris Waller’s assistant, Charlie Duckworth, says it’s his opportunity to prove he deserves to chime into the better races.
“James said, ‘I’m going to go and ride it on a Sunday’ so that was a big tick,” Duckworth said.
“I know it was only a provincial race, but he won by more than six. It’s a fair old margin.
“Saturday gives him his chance to stamp himself and prove that he should be with all the better colts, and that’s hopefully what we will see from him.”
Steel Will is an odds-on favourite to do just that, and while he’s got it all to prove, he does hold a nomination for the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) next month.
Raced by Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, Steel Will finished third behind subsequent Kindergarten Stakes placegetters The Next Episode and Under Focus at Warwick Farm in March, then finished down the track in the Group 3 race.
Duckworth said they’d seen more from the horse at home as a juvenile than what he produced on race days.
“His form at two, it was okay, but it wasn’t as good as what we thought the horse was,” he said.
“He had a couple of chinks in his armour, and he’d do a few things wrong. He’s just come in more mature this time around.”
Steel Will is one of three Waller-trained runners in the benchmark race, along with Your Colour, who needs to improve on her only start when unplaced in midweek grade at Warwick Farm, and the consistent Letters Patent.
“Your Colour needs to lift a bit, but she’s drawn well with a light weight,” Duckworth said.
“Letters Patent hasn’t really done anything wrong. There’s a few of those three-year-olds sitting on the cusp of pushing into Group races or staying in Saturday grade. I guess we’ll find out a lot on Saturday.”
