Import King Of The Sea has stamped himself as a stayer to watch this spring with trainer Ciaron Maher considering some lofty targets following his resounding first-up win at Randwick.
In just his second Australian campaign, the former UK galloper was dominant, unleashing a stunning turn of foot from back in the field to take out Saturday’s Drinkwise Mile (1600m).
Maher’s Sydney stable foreman, Jo Gerard-Dubord, said the sky was the limit for the five-year-old, although how far he was able to progress this campaign would depend on his next couple of runs.
“He’s a horse with plenty of talent. He didn’t have a lot of luck last preparation, but the form out of his races has been very strong since, and there’s a lot more to come,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He is still lowly rated, so we probably need to see what he does next start. There are plenty of options.
“Whether we target a race like the ‘Metrop’ (Metropolitan) here. You’ve got a Naturalism (Stakes) down in Melbourne to try to get into a Caulfield Cup.
“When they’ve got a turn of foot like that, for a horse that can stay and do that over a mile, it’s very exciting.”
The win was King Of The Sea’s fourth in 10 starts and first in Australia.
Ridden by James Mcdonald, the gelding justified his $1.80 favouritism to score by a widening 1-3/4 lengths over Puntin ($9) with Anthracite ($15) a half-neck away third. Punters using the best horse racing betting apps saw the short-priced favourite deliver an impressive first-up victory.
