A bout of heart arrhythmia put paid to Yorkshire’s first-up prospects last campaign but even before the setback, his trainers were conservative in their expectations.
That won’t be the case this time around when the emerging miler resumes in the Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Yorkshire hadn’t raced for nine months when kicking off in The Hunter (1300m), where next weekend will mark just 10 weeks since his triumph in The Ingham (1600m) on December 13.
“He would be more forward than that race because he was coming off a long lay-off, where he’s only had a short let-up off the Ingham,” co-trainer Tom Charlton said.
“He will be more forward by design, but he will have a bit of improvement to come still.”
The five-year-old has been patiently managed by Charlton and training partner John O’Shea but his record is one of a star on the rise.
The winner of eight of his 11 starts, he overcame his issue in The Hunter to post successive victories in the Festival Stakes (1500m) and Ingham, a nod to the fact he possesses more than just natural ability.
“He’s as tough as anything and just thrives on his work and racing,” Charlton said.
“He will most likely go to the Liverpool City Cup on Saturday. That will be his first-up run, and then probably the Ajax Stakes and Doncaster Mile.”
Yorkshire earned a ballot exemption for the Doncaster Mile (1600m) with his Ingham victory and if he can progress to that race, faces a potential clash with star stablemate Linebacker.
The winner of the Randwick Guineas as a three-year-old, Linebacker is taking a different path to the feature mile via the Canterbury Stakes and George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
He looked sharp winning a Randwick trial on Thursday ahead of the Canterbury Stakes (1300m) at Randwick on Saturday week.
