Imported stayer Gilded Water has made it back-to-back victories in Australia and has given his owner, His Majesty King Charles III, a winner at Royal Randwick.
The King’s racing manager John Warren was on track at Randwick on Saturday as the Ciaron Maher-trained Gilded Water raced to a convincing victory in the Precise Air Handicap (2400m) after also winning at Kembla Grange last month at his Australian debut.
With visiting jockey Dylan Browne Mcmonagle in the saddle, Gilded Water settled midfield in Saturday’s race before moving up ominously coming into the home straight.
The four-year-old gelding, a half-brother to this year’s Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire, raced clear to win by three lengths in the benchmark-78 race.
“Ciaron has done such a lovely job getting him to this point, taking his time and just let him get in and acclimatise which is lovely,” Warren said.
“We’re very excited about his prospects, which is really nice for The King.”
Gilded Water is still a relatively inexperienced horse having only raced four times in the UK before being sent to Australia to be trained by Maher, and Saturday’s victory was the gelding’s third in his career.
“We thought he was the right kind of horse for Australia, a nice progressive staying horse,” Warren said.
“He’s just come along really nicely.
“I think we’ve learned a bit today that staying is his real forte.
“The way he moved on this ground was nice to see, so now it’s up to the maestro (Maher) to see what he can conjure up and give the King and Queen a thrill in this country, which is the objective of it.”
Maher also labelled Gilded Water a progressive stayer and the trainer was impressed by the way the son of Fastnet Rock travelled in the race and then was able to stride clear in the straight.
“He bridled up and looked like he had them covered a long way out,” Maher said.
Maher said Gilded Water still had to work his way through the grades before he gets a chance at any staying features.
“There are a couple of two mile races that are quite prestigious as well that we could think about,” Maher said.
“He’s a horse that’s got to get through his grades first and foremost.”
Browne McMonagle believes Gilded Water has all the right attributes to be a good stayer.
“He stays well and he’s not short of pace, either, which is a good sign,” the jockey said.
