Poor fertility quickly ended the stud career of Militarize but the experience doesn’t appear to have impacted the horse’s hunger for racing as he prepares to launch his next chapter in the Canterbury Stakes at Randwick.
The 2023 Golden Rose winner was retired after finishing third in the Doncaster Mile last autumn, destined to spend his days in the stallion barn.
Instead, he makes his racing return as a gelding in Saturday’s feature sprint and trainer Chris Waller is predicting the four-year-old to continue in the vein he left.
“I’m not concerned about what he’s done off the racetrack. He is so professional he actually doesn’t show tendencies of being ‘colty’ or worrying about other things,” Waller said.
“He’s a workman and he has never wavered from that.
“It is no different to him having an injury and being off the scene for twelve months. Last year he was favourite for the Doncaster with a big weight and he was narrowly beaten.”
Waller said Militarize had been in work since November and had been given a lengthy and gradual build-up to Saturday’s 1300m race.
He has prepared with two official barrier trials and an exhibition gallop at Randwick last weekend and Waller says he is “ready to go”.
Stablemate Switzerland will also line up after resuming with a solid fourth to Skybird in the Lightning Stakes (1000m) in Melbourne last month.
Waller opted to bring him back to Sydney rather than tackle this weekend’s Newmarket Handicap (1200m) due to uncertainty over the weight the three-year-old would be allocated at Flemington and said he was comfortable with that call.
Switzerland is undefeated second-up and in three starts at Randwick.
“Switzerland has had his first-up run, which was a good run over a very short trip,” Waller said.
“He will be much better suited to 1300 metres second-up and he has come on really well.”
Waller confirmed Switzerland was being aimed towards the T J Smith Stakes (1200m) while plans for Militarize remain open with the Doncaster Mile (1600m), George Ryder Stakes (1500m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) all on the table.
