Having run a brave second in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) in his most recent outing, the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Warmonger will now bid to go one better when he tackles Saturday’s Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm.
The son of War Decree was held up in the SA Derby and came home strongly in the closing stages to finish 1.3 lengths adrift of the winner, Coco Sun, prompting connections to aim for classic glory this weekend.
“I think his pattern where he has been getting back and running on, if there’s any silver lining from that, is that he’s been pulling up super from those races,” Kent Jnr said.
“He’s still got plenty of petrol left in the tank and he’s been thriving since Adelaide.
“He’s put on weight, muscle and just maintained his summer coat.
“He had two Brisbane-way gallops on the grass before he left, and I think the horse is flying. So, now we just have a pretty easy week leading in.
“Blake Shinn takes the ride and I think he’ll run super; I really think he will.”
Meanwhile, a last-start win in a 2000m handicap at Flemington has earned Navy King a shot at Saturday’s Queensland Derby.
Warrnambool trainer Symon Wilde will be having his first runner in Brisbane in 15 years since campaigning Baughurst and Hissing Sid.
Connections of Navy King will pay the late nomination fee for this weekend’s $1 million contest and have secured the services of Craig Williams.
Wilde is hopeful for a favourable draw.
“We were taken by his win at Flemington. I just thought it might be a good time to go with a late three-year-old that I thought was quite impressive,” Wilde said.
“It’s a little bit of a roll of the dice, but I think it’s well worth doing since he’s won enough money to warrant doing it.
“It would be mad not to, he’s lovely and sound, there’s no problems with him, he just seems to be in red-hot form at the moment.
“We just thought, why not?
“We’ll be really praying that we draw well because I think that will be really vital for him, if he can just get that cover, he’ll switch off.
“I don’t think that he’ll have a problem with the 2400 metres if he does switch off ok.”
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