It’s not every day James McDonald travels to Wyong for a Sunday ride, but he did so for Steel Will, and the colt will now be put to the test as a carnival contender at Rosehill.
Steel Will, who was not a sales ring product, is exceptionally well-bred, being by I Am Invincible from Pittsburgh Flyer, the dam of two-time Group 1 winner September Run.
Following a demolition of his Wyong rivals by over six lengths, the three-year-old colt returns to town for Saturday’s Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap (1300m), and trainer Chris Waller’s assistant, Charlie Duckworth, believes it’s his chance to prove he belongs in the better races.
“James said, ‘I’m going to go and ride it on a Sunday’ so that was a big tick,” Duckworth affirmed. “I know it was only a provincial race, but he won by more than six. It’s a fair old margin.
“Saturday gives him his chance to stamp himself and prove that he should be with all the better colts, and that’s hopefully what we will see from him.”
Steel Will is the short-priced favourite to achieve this, and while he has everything to prove, he is nominated for the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) next month.
Raced by Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, Steel Will previously finished third behind subsequent Kindergarten Stakes placegetters The Next Episode and Under Focus at Warwick Farm in March, before finishing poorly in the Group 3 race.
Duckworth commented that the horse had shown more potential at home as a juvenile than what he displayed on race days.
“His form at two, it was okay, but it wasn’t as good as what we thought the horse was,” he said. “He had a couple of chinks in his armour, and he’d do a few things wrong. He’s just come in more mature this time around.”
Steel Will is one of three Waller-trained runners in the benchmark race, alongside Your Colour, who needs to improve on her only start when unplaced in midweek grade at Warwick Farm, and the consistent Letters Patent.
“Your Colour needs to lift a bit, but she’s drawn well with a light weight,” Duckworth explained. “Letters Patent hasn’t really done anything wrong. There’s a few of those three-year-olds sitting on the cusp of pushing into Group races or staying in Saturday grade. I guess we’ll find out a lot on Saturday.”
Steel Will is strongly fancied to win his upcoming race, and for those keen to get involved, the betting markets for the race are expected to be popular.