A slight misunderstanding almost cost Tyler Schiller the opportunity to properly assess Gatineau in a recent barrier trial, but such clerical errors are expected to be avoided ahead of the juvenile’s inaugural race at Rosehill.
Schiller was mistakenly mounted on Gatineau’s stablemate, Blackbelt, who participated in the identical 900-metre heat on June 19. The error was only identified and corrected once the horses were approaching the starting stalls.
“There was a bit of a mix-up, and I ended up on the other horse of the Hawkes’ in the trial on the way to the gates,” Schiller explained. “Jay Ford was on the grey (Gatineau) going to the gates, and he’d been told to win the trial. I obviously wasn’t told that, but I knew he was expected to go out there and perform well, so I just gave him a good experience.”
Blackbelt subsequently finished second in the heat, with Gatineau crossing the line in fourth. However, Gatineau’s effort was eye-catching as he surged strongly under his own volition, finishing close to the placegetters.
While Gatineau faces a considerable challenge against more experienced gallopers in Saturday’s Thank You ATC Members Handicap (1100m) at Rosehill, Schiller is confident in the colt’s inherent talent and is eager to observe his performance under race conditions.
“I thought his trial was terrific. He trucked up behind them well,” Schiller remarked. “He’s got plenty of ability. It will be interesting to see what he does when he gets a gap and hits the front, because I know sitting behind them on the bridle can be a different story.”
Should Gatineau emerge victorious, he would extend the successful late-season run for Hawkes Racing’s two-year-old runners.
The stable previously celebrated an impressive win with the All Too Hard colt Why So Hard at Randwick on June 6, and Marwooba followed suit with a victory at Rosehill the subsequent week.
Schiller, who undertakes the majority of the riding for John, Wayne, and Michael Hawkes in Sydney, indicated that this late-season surge is not a source of surprise.
“We had a few early in the season that had setbacks with shin soreness and that sort of thing,” he elaborated. “They’ve missed all the big races, but the team has been able to get the horses into races where they can knock off a two-year-old win before they turn three. The team has been going well of late, so hopefully we can keep up the momentum.”
Schiller is also hopeful that the Jim and Greg Lee-trained gelding Glorious Moments can maintain his winning momentum as he makes his black-type debut in the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m). The gelding has accumulated four wins from his seven starts and demonstrated resilience when winning under a substantial weight at Randwick last time out, adding intrigue to the usual field in the feature sprint. “It’s a quality field, so you can’t say he’s going to come out and be dominant, but I think he’s a really good chance down in the weights,” Schiller stated.
You can find the latest racing odds for Saturday’s action at Rosehill through various betting sites.
