Trainer Adrian Bott has his sights on the spring carnival with powerful youngster Our Emperor after the colt demolished some highly touted rivals at Warwick Farm.
Bott said the juvenile was likely to head straight to the paddock to prepare for bigger races having shown the stable above average ability from the time he stepped out at the official two-year-old trials in September, despite his immaturity at the time.
“It didn’t come as a surprise seeing him win today,” Bott said.
“He has shown a lot all the way through. He’s a beautiful horse. He’s a powerhouse.
“He’s going to be aimed up at the spring, it’s just about what’s the exact path to get there, what’s the exact target, what’s his best distance
“Will we look to stretch him over a bit further or keep him to the short, explosive trips with the sustained speed he has shown? A couple of good problems to think about, so we’ll work that out shortly.”
Our Emperor ($3.40) wasn’t the fastest into stride but quickly mustered speed to go to the front for Tim Clark and he never looked in serious danger from there.
Extending his advantage on straightening, he took out the TAB Handicap (1100m) by 3-3/4 lengths over Iommi ($8.50), a half-brother to multiple Group 1 performer Lindermann, with Exit Clause ($41) another half-length away third.
Bott and training partner Gai Waterhouse prepared Our Emperor’s dam, Listed winner Our Crown Mistress, and Bott wasn’t surprised the daughter of Star Witness had thrown a smart horse.
“We trained Our Crown Mistress. She was a lovely, big, grey mare,” he said.
“With the size and strength she had, it prevented us from seeing how good she was. She had a few niggling issues, but she had so much talent and to have a nice one of the family come through that reminds us of mum is very encouraging.”
Clark said Our Emperor put himself in pole position as soon as he found the front and was simply a class above his rivals.
“That made my job a whole lot easier,” Clark said.
“I was able to control the race, get to the part of the track I wanted to, and I was able to dictate from that point onwards.”
