Glen Boss made a special trip to Sydney to ride classy colt Smart Missile in a track gallop at Randwick on Saturday and was pleased with the way he is progressing ahead of his spring campaign.
“He went lovely,” said Boss who flew back to ride at Saturday’s Caulfield meeting.
“He wasn’t there to run any time. I just wanted to ride him to see how he felt.
“He felt terrific and he trials next Friday at Randwick.
“He’s in great shape. He’s put on really good weight. He’s turned into a real athletic horse.
“He’s just a bigger unit now. He’s a nice horse.”
Boss said trainer Anthony Cummings intended to kick off the colt’s campaign in the Group Three Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill on August 27.
The Group One $1 million Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill on September 10, a race Cummings won with Duporth in 2008, is likely to follow.
Raced by Eduardo Cojuangco’s Gooree Pastoral Company syndicate, Smart Missile is unbeaten in his only two starts.
He won the Breeders Plate on debut at Randwick last spring and becoming the first, and so far only, horse to claim the scalp of Sepoy when he took out the Group Two Todman Stakes at Rosehill in March.
He was sent out second favourite for the Golden Slipper but played up in the barriers and was a late scratching.
Cummings hoped to gain some compensation in the Sires’ Produce Stakes but the colt injured himself just days from the race, putting paid to his autumn.
Boss rode a double at Caulfield on Saturday, scoring on the Danny O’Brien-trained Lopov ($4) in The Yalumba Masters (2412m) and the Robbie Griffiths-trained Procida ($21) in the MIchael Andrew Farewell Hcp (1400m).
AAP TURF
