Naval College has a couple of stablemates kicking off Queensland Winter Carnival campaigns this weekend and he is on trial to join them when he runs at Gosford.
The Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained import will contest Saturday’s $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m).
The Listed event will be the second start of the campaign for the six-year-old, who resumed with a fourth placing in the Group 3 JRA Plate (2000m) at Randwick on April 19, and Annabel Archibald said the race presented him with a chance to press his claims for a trip north.
“He was fourth behind Bois D’Argent first-up in the JRA plate, so he’ll strip fitter and up another 100 metres on a tight, leaderish track suits him as well,” Archibald said from Brisbane on last Saturday.
“We’ll see how he goes, but he’s another horse who could make his way up here.”
Fawkner Park and Bois D’argent, who Archibald also trains in partnership with husband Rob Archibald, will contest the $500,000 Group 2 Hollindale Cup (1800m) at the Gold Coast this Saturday.
The Archibalds dominated last Saturday’s Group 2 events at Eagle Farm, winning the Victory Stakes with Libertad and the Queensland Guineas with Depth Of Character.
Naval College competed at the Queensland Winter Carnival last year, when he was largely thwarted by wet tracks – including a 9-1/4-length ninth placing on a Heavy 10 track in the Hollindale Cup – and Archibald said they would be avoiding them with him in future.
The Gosford track was rated a Soft 7 on Tuesday morning but is expected improve significantly before raceday with little rain predicted for the rest of the week.
“He doesn’t want wet ground, we probably learnt that the hard way in the Hollindale last year with him,” she said.
“But on a fast track up to a mile-and-a-half, he’s a Group horse. He’s probably not a top-line horse, but he’s a handy horse.”
Naval College has 57kg in the Gosford Gold Cup, topweight for which is Klondike (59kg) with New Endeavour (58kg) and Hezashocka (57.5kg) the others towards the head of the weights.
