You could throw a blanket over the first four, but the Chris Waller trained colt Manzoice ($11) found a way to salute in only his second race start at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
The Almanzor progeny was too strong at the finish for the Michael Freedman prepared Backrower ($4.80) by a half head, with the Waterhouse/Bott gelding Major Beel ($12) just a short half head back in third place. Race favourite Waverider Buoy ($4F) was just behind the top three in a stirring go.
Perfectly rated by in-form hoop Kathy O’Hara, the three-year-old took full advantage of the inside barrier, not going around a runner in the process, and Waller believes there is even more improvement to come as the races get longer.
“It was a pretty tidy win wasn’t it?” Waller said.
“Kathy made good use of the good barrier, respecting that he’s a horse that probably needs a lot further. Made him get into the race and stuck to the fence and just waited for the gaps to come, and they came.
“It took him a while to find top speed but gee he was strong the last 50m, sign of a promising horse.”
With another recent prize money increase in New South Wales, Waller has some bigger plans in store for his lightly raced galloper as spring approaches. The Group 3 Gloaming Stakes over 1800m and the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes over 2000m look to be potential targets in the coming months.
“We can see him as a Spring Champion type horse, so we think he just needs racing and I’m under the opinion that you need to get these horses to lift to this level and they gradually improve without giving them an impossible task,” Waller said.
“It’s good for the owners, they’ve put some money into some nice horses and it looks like they are starting to get some good results.
“Big prize money, still a long way to go so no rush, but races like the Gloaming and Spring Champion they’ll be firmly on his radar.”
Jockey O’Hara was equally effusive about her mount, and sees even more progress to come.
“He gave me a beautiful feel, he’s a lovely horse. Everything he’s doing right now is just raw ability, he’s very raw,” O’Hara said.
“He has a lot of upside, he’s got a lovely action and he was just a little bit green today. Obviously I knew second start here, but he really let down nice like a good horse.
“I was confident he was going to find, whether he could wind up in time or not I wasn’t sure, but he only had 52 (kgs) today so it probably helped him. He’s a big horse though, I think he’s a classy individual and he’s in store for better races.”
The $2 million Spring Champion Stakes will be run at Royal Randwick on October 22.
