Sir Delius will stamp himself as Australia’s premier middle distance weight-for-age horse in the next 12 months, his connections have boldly claimed.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained import was favourite for both the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup after G1 wins in the Underwood Stakes and the Turnbull Stakes but he controversially failed Racing Victoria’s stringent veterinary protocols for Melbourne Cup aspirants, ruling him out of both races.
Go Bloodstock’s Steve O’Connor said the son of Frankel is back in work and will be shortly reinstated by vets ahead of a three-run autumn campaign in Sydney.
O’Connor said the horse’s owners are already relishing the opportunity to take on dual Cox Plate winner Via Sistina.
“The horse is well on his way back to being reinstated and we’re all looking forward,” O’Connor told Radio TAB.
“We think he would’ve won a Cox Plate, we think he would’ve given us a great race in a Melbourne Cup and we think we’re going to come back and we’re going to show him to be the best middle distance horse in the country.”
“Speaking to Adrian and Gai, they are very happy with the horse and he’s on track for probably a three-start campaign and they would all be Group 1 races.”
“The Chipping Norton, or whatever it’s called now (Verry Elleegant Stakes) that it’s been renamed, in early February, and then the second and third races would be the Ranvet on Slipper Day into the Queen Elizabeth.”
“We hope Via Sistina comes back in top nick and it can be a great match-up.”
Beyond the autumn, O’Connor said Sir Delius’ spring campaign will likely be geared towards the Cox Plate, with some consideration given to international targets in Japan and Hong Kong.
He said connections have a desire to make the five-year-old a commercial stallion prospect.
“I think we have unfinished business in the Cox Plate,” he said.
“It’s at Flemington this year and that will suit him down to the ground so we’d be happy to aim at that race.”
“The Melbourne Cup, even though it’s a dream for Sir Owen and many in the ownership group and it’s the reason the horse was initially purchased, I don’t think we could put ourselves through it again because you take the control out of your own hands.”
“We got invited to the Japan Cup this year, we considered it and in hindsight it was a record-breaking Japan Cup so it would’ve been a tough ask but we wouldn’t be afraid to take the horse overseas if and when he proves himself in Australia.”
