Trainer Liam Howley continues his quest for longer journeys with three-year-old Valiant Sun.
Flemington hosts the longest Victorian three-year-old race this Saturday: the Listed VRC St Leger (2800m), and Valiant Sun is in the mix.
Drawing the second widest gate, Valiant Sun takes on 16 adversaries for his potential second success in eight runs.
“I’ve always looked at him like he was going to stay a long way,” Howley said.
“He’s lacked that turn of foot but he’s slowly developing a little bit of speed about him.
“He can run time, but he’s got to build through the gears and the whole way through, the Leger has been the main goal.
“If he had shown a bit more speed along the way, maybe he could have been a Derby horse, but I think in his past two runs at a mile-and-a-half, every bit of the trip is important.
“Caulfield last time, he drew well, but the track played against us, but I still thought he ran very well and the bigger track at Flemington should suit him.”
The gelding launched his current preparation with a 1600m win at Colac in February, before dropping back to last over 2000m at Pakenham.
Howley opted for bold moves, lifting Valiant Sun to 2400m for third at Bendigo over older horses and fourth next out at Caulfield on April 11.
“I thought we’d step up quickly rather than go a mile, mile, 2000 metres,” Howley said.
“There weren’t enough options and he’s a natural stayer, so I thought let’s get him out to his comfort zone, and every time we’ve raised the bar, he’s stepped up.”
Race pace has been a foe for Valiant Sun thus far, Howley feels, and he looks to a firm 2800m on Flemington’s roomy course.
Strong form Saturday might propel the gelding towards the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville the subsequent weekend.
“He’ll be entered and if he happened to win, we would consider it,” Howley said.
“He’s still quite dumb and doesn’t really know what day of the week it is, and the further the better with him.
“I’m looking forward to next year with him when he’s a bit more mature and those longer races are going to suit him.”
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