The autumn preparation for Sir Delius has been geared towards a single key event, and although he faces two elite mares along with a battle-tested overseas raider, trainer Adrian Bott remains confident that the horse is primed to deliver at his optimum.
Whether that proves sufficient to challenge Autumn Glow, Aeliana and Dubai Honour remains uncertain for Bott, yet he anticipates Sir Delius producing his strongest effort this campaign during Saturday’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.
“He has been building well. He’s right on track now and hopefully we’ll see him run a personal best this preparation,” Bott said.
“Some of his best performances in the spring still may not be enough with the form Autumn Glow is in, but in saying that, it’s different conditions to what they met at last time.
“I expect it to be a decent pressure race. I feel he’s at his best now this prep to perform well.
“This is the run and the race where we’ve tried to have him peaking.”
Securing consecutive victories in the Underwood (1800m) and Turnbull Stakes (2000m) during the spring, Melbourne Cup aspirations for Sir Delius were dashed after he did not pass required Racing Victoria vet checks.
The team had no choice but to halt the campaign prematurely, and Bott noted that this meant the horse required actual races to sharpen up this time.
“We were able to go into the spring off the back of a Queensland campaign and had residual fitness early in that preparation,” he said.
“We’ve come off a longer break and it’s taken a bit of time to build into that. It was unsuitable at the mile first-up and he showed improvement second-up when we just gave ourselves a bit to do.”
Sir Delius dropped back in the pack from a wide barrier in the Ranvet Stakes (2000m) on his second outing, though Bott expects a forward position from gate three this Saturday.
Although he views the unblemished Autumn Glow as the benchmark, Bott is aware she is testing middle-distance waters for the initial occasion in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, potentially exposing a vulnerability.
“It’s new ground for her, if we’re trying to find anything to grasp onto,” Bott said.
“I have respect for her, not just her. Aeliana was very good last start. Lindermann even prior to that. It’s a proper weight-for-age 2000 metre race.”
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes has a legacy of surprise outcomes, including Intergaze defeating Octagonal in his final Randwick appearance in 1997, and Grand Armee denying Lonhro a perfect send-off in 2004.
Explore the Australian betting sites for top racing odds in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.