Trainer Ciaron Maher says there is plenty of time before Observer is subjected to taking on Australia’s proven weight-for-age stars.
Maher and the Godolphin team had considered a start in the Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday but have instead opted for the Drummond Golf Vase over the same trip, and a race before the Cox Plate.
Observer was the unlucky runner out of the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 11 when finishing third behind Autumn Boy.
Maher and Godolphin felt Saturday’s Vase sets the colt up nicely to tackle the Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday week.
“He’s bounced through his Guineas run and I was sort of toying with the Cox Plate but speaking with the Godolphin team we decided to go to the Vase and then on to the Derby,” Maher said.
Maher said he had had a number of conversations with the Godolphin team about running Observer in the Cox Plate.
But in the end, it all came down to the lack of racing the son of Ghaiyyath had had, with his Guineas placing just the colt’s fifth career start.
“In the end, he is a horse that is very lightly raced and if you go back through all the other horses that have been successful in the race, baring So You Think, most had had more racing than him,” Maher said.
“He’s a horse that’s not fully rounded yet in terms of his racing patterns.
“You see a horse like Tempted take on the older horses, she’s very well rounded.
“She jumps, takes a position, travels, quickens, does everything right, whereas Observer is still reasonably raw and that was probably the catalyst.
“You might say it’s not a vintage Cox Plate, but Via Sistina smashed the course record last year, so how strong do you need it to be.
“He’s a raw horse with a very bright future and he could run in the next four Cox Plates.”
Maher sees Saturday’s 2040m being ideal and believes the 2500m trip of the Derby won’t pose any concern.
“I expected him to run well in the Guineas as he’s a Ghaiyyath and they seem to be really hitting their straps here now,” Maher said
“He may have exceeded (expectations) in the Guineas, but it didn’t surprise.”
