Chris Waller is keen to test Horologist in Group company immediately after a maiden win, aiming to determine if the colt has the potential for an autumn carnival campaign.
The richly bred son of Written Tycoon, whose dam is Group 1 winner In Her Time, was a $1.8 million yearling purchase. Owned by a Coolmore-led syndicate focused on stallions, he must quickly prove his worth.
“He’s a Coolmore colt, they’re only interested in the top league in terms of making stallions,” Waller stated. “It’s not a stallion-making race, but he has to be competitive, otherwise they get traded pretty quickly to Hong Kong, or here in Australia. We’ll get him at this level, see where he’s at and work out whether he’s a Guineas horse in the autumn.”
Horologist, who placed in his first two winter starts, returned impressively with a 1400m win at Warwick Farm last month.
While his pedigree suggests speed, Waller believes his maiden victory indicates he can handle an increase in distance by 200 metres.
“He was a really good winner first up and it was good to see,” he commented. “He steps up to a mile and a Group Three race, but the way he won would suggest he can take that step. He’s well bred, he’s a good looking horse. They’re horses who can take the step pretty easily.”
Annabel and Rob Archibald are also set to use Saturday’s Spring Stakes (1600m) as a crucial gauge for the unbeaten Prince Of Verona.
The Castelvecchio gelding has shown steady improvement, progressing from wins at Bathurst and Goulburn to a midweek success at Warwick Farm, and his connections are eager to see how he measures up against stakes company.
“I just love the way he’s improved, and every time we’ve asked him to do a bit more, he has,” Rob Archibald said. “He’s got himself out of trouble once or twice on the way to here, and he’s picked himself up and finished off really well. I think he’s a really nice horse that is still a long way from the finished article. I’m excited to see him against some Saturday grade horses and we’ll get a really good line on where he fits into his age group.”
With Consulate a late scratching, the Spring Stakes will now feature a field of nine, including Horologist’s stablemate Katoto, who is the sole filly in the race.
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