Tom Charlton has a Group 1 winner heading to the main race at Rosehill this Saturday, but it’s a stablemate in a support event that might be the stable’s most promising staying prospect.
King Pedro will be extended to 2400 metres for the first time this preparation in the $160,000 Stayer’s Cup. The New Zealand-bred son of Eminent has not been afforded much luck in his three starts this campaign, including a narrow second place over 2000m at Rosehill on June 13, and Charlton is anticipating a shift in fortune.
“He probably hasn’t had a lot of luck for his past four runs, to be fair,” Charlton stated. “You could make a case that he’s been unlucky in all of them, but he’s building into the preparation very well.”
King Pedro finished second at Gosford over 2100m two starts prior, being narrowly beaten by Monopolistic after an early move. This was preceded by a seventh-place finish over 1600m at Randwick on Anzac Day, where he encountered interference in the straight but was only defeated by a length.
The Stayer’s Cup will be King Pedro’s first outing at 2400m since another tight second in benchmark 78 grade at Randwick on December 20.
King Pedro’s recent run of misfortune means he has only two wins from 14 starts and possesses a rating of 77, hence his light weight of 54.5kg on Saturday. Charlton mentioned that a good run this weekend could see him considered for Stakes grade.
“We toyed with going to the Caloundra Cup (next week), but if he was to run well in the Stayer’s Cup he could go to the Grafton Cup two-and-a-half weeks later,” Charlton added. “He’s clearly got a good future, probably at a grade better than this, and he should stay well.”
Maison Louis, the reigning Queensland Derby champion, will also be present at Rosehill. He aims to bounce back from a disappointing performance in the Listed Winter Cup (2400m) and will compete in the $200,000 Listed McKell Cup over 2000m. “His runs prior to last weekend have all been with plenty of merit, just with barriers draws and things not working out, so I would be confident he can run well at Listed grade.”
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