For all of the trainer’s success, which includes three Group One wins, one solely under his name, he’s never been successful in one of the four majors in South Australia.
When in partnership with Leon MacDonald, the training duo won the 2011 Caulfield Cup with Southern Speed and the 2014 Champagne Stakes with Indy Go Go, while more recently Gluyas won the Victoria Derby with Goldrush Guru.
The pair came agonisingly close in 2023 with Another Award, who finished second in both the Robert Sangster Stakes and The Goodwood, and Gluyas is hoping Watchme Win can go one better.
Sporting the same black and white colours of MacDonald racing, the four-year-old gelding won his way into the field with a strong victory in the Group 3 John Hawkes Stakes (1100m), although Gluyas admits it hadn’t been the plan all along.
“Not really, we were just hoping to get him racing because he had a whole year off,” Gluyas said.
“So, after a good start-up prep, we gave him a break, after that Sir Sway race, and then we thought we’d see where he pops up, and he’s popped up alright.”
A trackwork incident as a two-year-old nearly saw Watchme Win’s career over before it started, but Gluyas is confident the five-time winner is ready for a crack at Group One level.
“We’re excited for Saturday. He’s come through that run in the John Hawkes really well, he’s building towards the six furlongs and it just happens to be in a Group One, but he’s good.”
As a set weights and penalties race, Watchme Win will likely carry 56kg in The Goodwood, giving away 1.5kg to all-in favourite Giga Kick, who hasn’t won a race since May 2023 but is 24 official ratings points clear of Watchme Win, who is an $18 chance with betting sites.
“I wish it was a handicap, that would’ve helped but that’s the way it goes, it is how it is,” Gluyas lamented.
“I reckon it is (wide open) for them all, a lot of those mares are in good form out of the Sangster, so it should be good.”
“It’s the right time to have a crack, if the race was somewhere else, well, maybe not but at home, you may as well.”
“Winning a Goodwood, that’d be alright, wouldn’t it?”
