It has been a case of out of sight, out of mind for El Castello but after almost a year on the sidelines, the Group One winner is finally on the verge of a return.
El Castello was one of the star three-year-olds in Sydney last spring, stringing together a four-race winning sequence that culminated in a Spring Champion Stakes victory before his fifth in the Victorian Derby (2500m).
Niggling issues ruled him out of participating in the autumn but new trainer Joe Pride hasn’t seen any signs of those since taking over his conditioning and is looking forward to the horse’s stable debut in Saturday’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill.
“He’s a big boy and he’s got a lot of confidence about him but he’s a serious racehorse,” Pride said.
“You’ve only got to look at his record to see that.
“Even at the end of last preparation, he still managed to run a good race in the Derby from a terrible draw.”
A son of Castelvecchio, El Castello is still an entire and potential stud proposition.
However, given the bloodstock industry’s focus on speed over stamina, Pride will prepare him a little differently by trying to keep him sharp enough for targets up to a mile.
“There’s not a lot of appetite at stud for horses who win over 2000 metres and beyond so I’m trying to make more of a sprinter-miler out of him,” Pride said.
“If we can do that and he can show he’s got a bit of speed in his legs, a race like the Golden Eagle might be a nice race for him.”
A $31 chance for his return, El Castello is $26 in pre-nomination markets for the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) being held at Randwick on November 1.
