A brace of strong barrier trial performances has swayed connections of Blue Diamond Preview winner The Instructor to test the Sydney waters, starting in the Listed The Rosebud.
The Instructor had done all his racing in Victoria and co-trainer Adrian Bott said the initial plan was to again head south.
But after a trial win at Warwick Farm and another competitive showing in a Rosehill hitout, the horse convinced Bott he deserved a chance to showcase his credentials as a possible Golden Rose contender, kicking off in Saturday’s Rosebud (1100m) at Rosehill.
“We were looking at a possible Melbourne campaign for him and we still could, but I was just really encouraged by the way he trialled up here, so I wanted to keep him up here,” Bott said.
“I thought the Rosebud would be a nice target and that will help us determine his campaign, whether he can stay on track for the Golden Rose.
“He’s been pretty professional, pretty straightforward, very immediate from the outset.”
The Instructor won his first two starts over 1000m at Pakenham and Sandown then tired after leading to finish midfield in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).
While he is still to prove he is more than a short course speedster, Bott believes the colt has returned much stronger and he doesn’t anticipate him having any issue extending his brilliance.
“Maybe last prep as a two-year-old we saw it just stretched him there late, but I don’t think it will be an issue for him going forward,” he said.
Stablemate Introducing resumes in the same race and has also shown promise, winning on debut at Warwick Farm in February before a fourth to Shinzo in the Pago Pago Stakes and fifth to Libertad on a heavy track in the Kindergarten Stakes.
Bott says that grounding will provide the Trapeze Artist colt with a strong foundation to launch his three-year-old year.
“He showed good ability last preparation, but it may have all come a bit too soon,” Bott said.
“Now he seems a lot more mature mentally and physically so if he can take his work to the races and put it all together, he’s certainly not outclassed there.”
Tulloch Lodge will also saddle up two emerging three-year-olds in the Inglis Pink Bonus Handicap (1300m) in The Little Pumper and Ganbare.
The Little Pumper posted back-to-back wins during the winter and another bold showing on Saturday could propel him into the early-season stakes races.
Ganbare hinted at his quality when rattling home from the rear to be beaten just two lengths by Learning To Fly in the Inglis Millennium (1100m) and Bott told punters to follow the son of Maurice as he gets over longer journeys.
“I think you’ll see a nice horse once we can get him out in distance,” he said.