He fetched a record price at the breeze-up sales, and now Tron Bolt appears set for a Group 1 bid following his comprehensive midweek win at Randwick’s Kensington track.
A $900,000 buy for Hermitage Thoroughbreds – the highest price paid for a colt at an Inglis Ready2Race sale – Tron Bolt is being aimed towards next month’s J J Atkins (1600m) at Eagle Farm, possibly via the Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).
“There’s the Sires’ Produce in Queensland. It’s two-and-a-half weeks (away), or the same day at Rosehill there’s a 1300. It will be one of the two,” trainer Chris Waller said of Tron Bolt’s next start.
“Ideally, he can win then or run well and go to the J J Atkins.
“He was a nice Ready-To-Run horse, and he’s impressed us since day one.”
A son of Toronado, Tron Bolt ($2.70) finished third on debut at Kembla Grange in April but proved a class above his rivals in Wednesday’s Hawaii Five Oh @ Vinery Stud Handicap (1400m).
Finishing powerfully for James McDonald, he scored by three lengths over Rolling Home ($8.50) with the winner’s stablemate, Unhinged ($2.50 fav), a long head away third.
Waller has had good success identifying later-maturing two-year-olds for the major Queensland carnival races, particularly the J J Atkins, and says Tron Bolt fits the bill.
“It works well, and we’ve had it in mind for him for a while,” he said.
“He obviously needed to win today. He is a lovely, scopey horse, that’s why I’m thinking a mile.”
Despite confirmation this week that Saturday’s impressive Ken Russell Memorial Classic winner St Gotthard would be spelled, Waller is still set to have a strong hand in the Atkins.
Along with Tron Bolt, he has Clarendon Stakes winner Stormy Marco and runner-up Nation’s League, who was scratched from Kensington on Wednesday, both on a path towards the juvenile feature.
“They need to keep improving,” Waller said.
“I like to give them a run or two at two, otherwise they find it hard to measure up at three.”