The Godolphin team feel Amur is holding something back despite landing a second straight win at Moonee Valley.
A debut winner at the track on Christmas Eve, Amur landed a last stride win in the All-Star Mile On Sale Now Handicap (1200m) on Saturday.
Ridden again by Damien Oliver, Amur ($3.40) scored a short-half-head win over the $2.90 favourite Some People Callme with Meg’s Magic ($8) a half-length away third.
Sean Keogh, who runs the Melbourne stable for Godolphin trainer James Cummings, said Amur had made natural progression from his debut win but felt the colt was holding something back.
“He was a bit above himself on debut, so he’s benefitted from the run, but it feels he’s not giving us everything just yet,” Keogh said.
“There is a feeling there is still a lot left in the tank, physically aslo. He’s not quite there yet.”
Amur is from the same family as Alize and Astern and Keogh said the colt should appreciate getting out in distance.
“He’s a pretty big horse. He weighs around 530 kilos and has a big action on him,” Keogh said.
“He’s from the family of Alizes and Astern, so you would imagine he would get over a bit of ground and you would think a bigger track will suit him, but there is not a lot beyond six furlongs at the moment.”
Oliver said Amur had shown improvement in his manners from his debut win to Saturday’s success four weeks later.
However, he described Amur as a ‘bit of a lad’.
“His manners were a bit better today and he’s a horse that can get off the bit but keeps responding for you, so to chase that leader down as I felt they didn’t go that hard was a good effort,” Oliver said.
“He’s still a bit of a lad and I think some headgear wouldn’t go astray at some stage.
