The gelding of Warnie has been instrumental in the Ciaron Maher-trained galloper becoming a more relaxed horse, which is finally showing through on the racetrack.
Warnie relaxed during the running of the Group 3 Chautauqua Stakes (1300m) at Sandown on Wednesday before unleashing a devastating finish.
Wednesday’s Group 3 was held over from Saturday’s Moir Stakes program at Sandown when the last two races were washed out following a heavy downpour.
The delay in running the race four days later was no concern for Warnie ($3.70) who, under Mark Zahra, appreciated the solid tempo in running down stablemate Tennessee Bound ($4.20) to score by 1-¼ lengths, with Amenable ($7.50) a long neck away third.
Jack Turnbull, the National Assistant Trainer for Ciaron Maher Racing, said Warnie was dominant in his victory on Wednesday and was now headed to the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on September 19.
“There was good speed and Tennessee Bound had a bit of company upfront, and she was gallant in defeat, but to see Warnie sit back and have a few lengths to make up and quicken the way he did and eased down late, it was impressive,” Turnbull said.
“The 1400 (metres) to a mile is his go and he’s a horse that is held in high regard. He took a little while to get there when he was a colt, but now a gelding, it’s terribly exciting for all the connections.”
Turnbull said being gelded had enabled Warnie to relax and not be as free-spirited.
“He was always a horse that was full in the bridle and very strong, both at home and on race day,” Turnbull said.
“He’s softened, gone from (needing) a Norton bit back to a crossover noseband and he’s just grown up essentially.
“When he reserves himself in the first half, he has that turn of foot in the second half.”
Turnbull said the stable was mindful of the closeness of the Sir Rupert Clarke, now being only 10 days away rather than 14 as first scheduled.
With that in mind, the stable asked Zahra to also be mindful of the quick turnaround.
“It wasn’t ideal that we got pushed back from Saturday, but everybody was in the same boat,” Turnbull said.
Zahra said while the field may have been small, he was happy there was good speed.
“They were flying along and I’ve ridden him before and he’s a horse that races best ridden dead cold,” Zahra said.
“If you do that, he absolutely flies home and I just rode him like that today and once I got him out to the good ground, he looked the winner a long way out.”
