Less than two months after his first race start, Castillo King will take on some of the cream of his age group in the Run To The Rose and jockey Tommy Berry believes the colt is up to the task – on one condition.
The Michael Freedman-trained three-year-old has drawn barrier 12 of 13 for Saturday’s 1200m sprint, and against a quality field that boasts Group 1-winning juveniles Fireball and Tron Bolt, Berry says it’s imperative Castillo King has some luck in the early part of the race.
“We had to ride him quiet from a poor alley last start and we were hoping he drew well this start because we wanted to be prominent on him,” Berry said.
“I’m just disappointed with the draw. I still wouldn’t think, this weekend, we’d ride him quiet, only for the fact he is there to run well.
“He’s been working well, so we’d want to still be positive on him and hope for a bit of luck. If we get the luck, he’s going to be right in the finish.”
An impressive winner at Warwick Farm on debut in July, Castillo King settled in the second half of the field when making ground for fourth to Chilly Girl in the Rosebud (1100m) last month.
Freedman has opted to space his runs, and Berry says the colt is an athletic type who will have no issue tackling the Run To The Rose on the fresh side.
“He’s not a big, gross horse so we weren’t worried about the month between runs with him,” he said.
“He’s working really well at home. He had a few days in the paddock after his last run and he’s spot-on.
“He’ll have no excuses on the weekend bar bad luck, but if we get a bit of luck in the first furlong, I guarantee he’ll be in the finish.”
While Berry has ridden Castillo King in his two starts to date, he will jump aboard Hidrix for the first time in the other three-year-old feature, the Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m).
The Canonbury Stakes (1100m) winner resumed with a solid fifth against older horses in benchmark grade last month and from barrier four, Berry says he is drawn to get every chance.
“The barrier is probably imperative so he can get a nice run behind the speed,” he said.
“His run was really good first-up when he went back to the inferior ground on the inside.
“I saw him the other morning and he’s in great order. He’ll appreciate the step up in distance as well.”
