Ben and J D Hayes reaped the rewards of being patient with stable star Mr Brightside and have learned from that approach with Gentleman Roy.
Mr Brightside provided the brothers with their first Group 1 success when taking out the Doncaster Handicap in the autumn and now it is Gentleman Roy’s time to shine on the big stage.
Gentleman Roy heads to Caulfield on Saturday to contest another of the prestigious mile handicaps on the Australian calendar, the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m).
While the Epsom Handicap struggled numbers wise at Randwick last Saturday, the Toorak Handicap has attracted a near capacity field of 16 runners.
Gentleman Roy will be third-up into Saturday’s contest and is coming off a last start win in the Group 3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) on September 25.
The Hayes brothers had planned to have Gentleman Roy racing fourth-up on Saturday, but a niggle before starting his campaign put him behind schedule.
“He went into his first run underdone, but he ran incredibly well, and I just love the improvement that he has shown from his first to his second runs,” Ben Hayes said.
“He’s starting to really come on in the coat now, dapple up and I think he’s peaking at the right time.”
Hayes has genuine respect for the Peter Moody-trained I Wish I Win who lowered Gentleman Roy’s colours first-up at Caulfield on August 27.
Gentleman Roy has a 2kg weight swing in his favour, although there was four lengths between the pair.
“I think Peter Moody’s horse will be hard to beat, but he gets back in his races, and we make our own luck,” Hayes said.
“So, if he has traffic and we are up front and rolling, we could be hard to catch.”
Gentleman Roy had a seven-run campaign last preparation, finishing first or second on each occasion, and has started the current campaign with a similar formline.
If all goes to plan on Saturday, Hayes said Gentleman Roy could run in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington on November 5 with the possibility of a trip to Perth to follow.
“He’s a really tough horse, lightly raced, and we just couldn’t get at him properly as a younger horse, but we’re seeing those benefits now,” Hayes said.
