Joe Pride has one burning question he wants Ceolwulf to answer this autumn – is he a Group One horse over 2000 metres?
The gelding’s record offers conflicting data.
His four majors have come over a mile, but he does have an Australian Derby placing at three, and a narrow win at Group 2 level over a middle-distance as an older horse.
He has also been soundly beaten in the past two renewals of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
So as the backmarker with a booming finish readies to launch his five-start campaign at Randwick on Saturday, Pride is already plotting how to solve the distance conundrum.
“This preparation, I am about once and for all establishing if he can run 2000 metres as well as what he runs a mile,” Pride said.
“There’s no doubt he runs 2000 metres, but is he as effective?
“And does he get the right set-up for 2000? He never seems to get speed on, and that might be the defining factor for him. He might get in a 2000 metre race that is run a bit different and be a different horse.”
Ceolwulf will be given two chances to prove his middle-distance mettle – at his fourth run in the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington and his campaign swansong in the Queen Elizabeth.
But first he has to get through Saturday’s Apollo Stakes (1400m) and a clash with undefeated mare Autumn Glow, along with her high-class stablemate, Aeliana.
Ceolwulf has never won first-up, but he has run some cheeky races, including an eye-catching fourth to Fangirl in the corresponding event 12 months ago during a period when he wasn’t racing at his best.
Pride felt there were a few reasons the gelding didn’t perform as expected last autumn, and has taken steps to rectify the main one.
“I’m convinced one of them was that I had him too big,” he said.
“I had him up around 530 kilos for his first-up run last time and he’s 510 now. I’m not a believer in a fighting weight for a horse so much, but with this horse, there is just a weight he runs well at and it’s around that (510 kilos).”
As for Saturday, Ceolwulf is expected to be doing his best work late and Pride will be satisfied with a finish “in the first four or five”.
He will then race every fortnight with the end goal of having him at his peak for his final two campaign runs, performances set to shape the remainder of his career.
“It is always my aim to find out what the one perfect formula is for each horse, and I’ll repeat it all day long,” Pride said.
“That’s why I want to work it out with Ceolwulf. I don’t want to waste any more time running him in 2000 metre races if he can’t perform at his best at that distance.
“I’ll keep him a miler for the rest of his life if I have to. I’ve just got to find that out.”
