Time has been the best friend for Royal Insignia who makes his return after a short break in Stakes company at Sandown.
After wins at Kyneton and Caulfield Heath back in November, Royal Insignia heads to the Group 3 Manfred Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.
Trainer Grahame Begg has a lot of time for the three-year-old who is a brother to Blue Diamond winner, and now stallion, Written By.
Begg said the two horses are like chalk and cheese.
“This horse has the best nature,” Begg said.
“He was going to be a bit of a larrikin, but he turned the corner, amazingly, and is a completely different horse and has a great outlook on things.
“Written By was a sprinter, whereas this guy is a bigger, hulking version, an attractive horse, and certainly nowhere near as hot as the other one.”
Written By won the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes and ran fourth in the Group 1 Golden Slipper and was retired before the end of his three-year-old season.
On the otherhand, Royal Insignia had only one start as a two-year-old and has made leaps and bounds during his three-year-old season with Begg expecting more from the colt.
Saturday’s outing will be Royal Insignia’s first since winning a benchmark 64 grade race at the Caulfield Heath on November 20.
“I’m looking forward to him going to the races again as we think he’s a pretty progressive horse,” Begg said.
“He’s had a bit of a break since his win on the Caulfield Heath as there were no races for him, so we turned him out with these types of races coming up quite early.
“I’m a bit disappointed it’s gone to Sandown Lakeside, but he’s drawn well, and I think he’s a very exciting horse.
“Hopefully after Saturday he can go on to the C S Hayes Stakes at Flemington over 1400 metres. He looks like a Flemington horse as he relaxes in his races, and he’s got a good turn of foot.”
Begg said Royal Insignia could stretch out to the 1600m of the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington in March.
“We think he will get a mile, which is exciting, but we’re really looking forward to seeing him back at the races on Saturday, even though it’s a huge rise in grade from winning a 64 last time,” Begg said.
