Ciaron Maher says the time will come for Observer to face Australia’s elite, but that challenge isn’t on the immediate horizon.
Maher, in partnership with Godolphin, weighed up a tilt at the Cox Plate (2040m) but instead chose to send the colt to the Drummond Golf Vase over the same distance at Moonee Valley.
Observer caught the eye when finishing third in the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 11 after being unlucky in running.
The decision to contest the Vase is aimed at setting him up for a peak performance in the Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington the following week.
“He’s bounced through his Guineas run and I was sort of toying with the Cox Plate but speaking with the Godolphin team we decided to go to the Vase and then on to the Derby,” Maher said.
Maher admitted that running in the Cox Plate was tempting but that the colt’s inexperience was the deciding factor.
“In the end, he is a horse that is very lightly raced and if you go back through all the other horses that have been successful in the race, baring So You Think, most had had more racing than him,” Maher said.
“He’s a horse that’s not fully rounded yet in terms of his racing patterns.
“You see a horse like Tempted take on the older horses, she’s very well rounded.
“She jumps, takes a position, travels, quickens, does everything right, whereas Observer is still reasonably raw and that was probably the catalyst.
“You might say it’s not a vintage Cox Plate, but Via Sistina smashed the course record last year, so how strong do you need it to be.
“He’s a raw horse with a very bright future and he could run in the next four Cox Plates.”
The 2040m test on Saturday will be ideal conditioning ahead of stepping up to the Derby distance.
“I expected him to run well in the Guineas as he’s a Ghaiyyath and they seem to be really hitting their straps here now,” Maher said.
“He may have exceeded (expectations) in the Guineas, but it didn’t surprise.”
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