Well-bred colt Motorised will give trainer John Sadler a guide to any spring hopes he may have when he makes his debut at Moonee Valley.
The son of Flying Spur is among 47 entries for Saturday’s 1200m two-year-old event which features a staggering 19, mostly un-raced youngsters, owned by Lloyd Williams.
Sadler is a fan of Motorised, who was a $310,000 yearling, and delayed his debut a week after scratching him from Saturday’s Flemington meeting, feeling the 1000 metres would be too short for him.
“He has showed us that he is a little bit dour and I thought they would run him off his legs in 1000 metres if we ran him last Saturday,” Sadler said.
“I would rather start him off this week over 1200 metres where he may be able to get in to the race a bit.”
Pace is something Motorised is bred for as his dam True Blonde has produced seven winners from eight foals to race including stakes winner Regrowth and Motorised’s full sister Sharp Aunty who was Group Two-placed in a Champagne Stakes at Moonee Valley.
Notably stakes-winning sprinter True Blonde is a half sister to former top sprinter and sire Snippets, who was an Oakleigh Plate winner, and Quick Score, who was a Group Two sprint winner of the Apollo Stakes in Sydney.
“He (Motorised) shapes as a stayer and looks like he can stay but he is not bred to stay,” Sadler said.
“He is fairly big and placid, but a nice horse we are hopeful down the track will make the grade.
“I really want to have look at him on Saturday and see what he can do.”
He said Motorised would be one of the few exceptions if he can translate winter form into spring form.
“When they don’t race until late you worry about their chances in the spring,” Sadler said.
He said Benicio filly Manicio, who has finished fourth at her two starts, was also entered but was unlikely to run in Saturday’s race.
The Williams-owned entries, all trained by Robert Hickmott, make an impressive line up with three sired by Zabeel, two each by Pins, Reset, and O’Reilly, and others by Al Maher, Shinko King, Danzero, Bradbury’s Luck, Fastnet Rock, Encosta de Lago, Savabeel and Duelled.
AAP TURF
