The temptation confronting trainer Tony Vasil after the last-start win of Under The Louvre at Caulfield was to give him a rest and make way for the horse he regards as one of the best he’s had.
“I was thinking of taking Under The Louvre on the truck last week when I went to pick up Prince Harada from his paddock,” Vasil said.
But Vasil has chosen to allow his second-best galloper one more spin before he turns a year older.
Under The Louvre runs in Saturday’s Inglis Bonus Plate, a race Vasil is also hoping to provide a clue to the extent of the colt’s ability.
The son of Excellent Art has won over 975m at Swan Hill on debut and impressively handled the step up to 1200m in town at his only other run.
On Saturday he will be stretched out to 1400m, but Vasil sees no problem with the extra distance.
“He’s obviously a very handy young horse and we should get an idea on Saturday of what we can expect later on,” Vasil said.
The trainer is also looking to Under The Louvre to add weight to his opinion of stablemate Prince Harada.
“He’s one of the best I’ve trained, for sure,” said the man who trained Elvstroem to Caulfield Cup and Dubai Duty Free wins, and Haradasun, a Group One winner in Australia and England.
Prince Harada, a winner at Ballarat and Moonee Valley at his only two starts, is expected to resume in the Group Three McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on August 31.
Vasil is contemplating then giving Prince Harada, a son of Haradasun, only one more run before the Caulfield Guineas in October.
