It will be a fresh chapter for stakes winner Royal Insignia when he resumes in the $200,000 Wagga Town Plate ahead of a possible winter campaign in Queensland.
Taking out the Group 3 Manfred Stakes at three, Royal Insignia subsequently lost form, prompting connections to begrudgingly geld the son of Written Tycoon.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but he just wasn’t putting it all together on race days, even though he has shown an enormous amount of ability,” trainer Grahame Begg said.
“So we bit the bullet and gelded him.”
Royal Insignia hasn’t raced since finishing down the track in the Testa Rossa Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on November 29, and Begg has given him two jumps outs and a trial ahead of his first-up assignment in the Wagga Town Plate (1200m) on Thursday.
The four-year-old generally races well fresh with a win and two placings from four fresh runs, his unplaced effort a closing fourth at Group 2 level in the spring.
If he performs to expectations, a trip to Queensland for a race like the Group 2 Morton Cup (1200m) at Eagle Farm on June 6 beckons, while Begg also hasn’t ruled out a start in the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) a week later if the horse can put himself into calculations.
“He needs to get his rating up. But there are other races outside that, plenty of lovely races up there. The Moreton Cup over 1200, and there are races on Tatt’s Day,” he said.
There are 40 nominations for the Town Plate, which is held on the opening day of the two-day Wagga carnival.
The first two horses across the line last year, Compelling Truth and Gravina, are both among the entries, while Friday’s Listed Wagga Cup (2000m) has received 29 entries, including Flying Bandit and Bianco Vilano, who finished one-two 12 months ago.
