Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree) is set on the path of a Sydney campaign this autumn after returning to the trials in good fashion on Wednesday morning.
OTI Racing’s Kiwi stayer claimed his Group One win last winter in the Queensland Derby, but was put away before the Melbourne Cup after a long campaign.
“When you look at him now, I’m so glad we did what we did,” said co-trainer Michael Kent Jnr.
“He got to have a good five-week spell, he put on fantastic condition, he’s popped up in the wither, he’s really grown and matured.
“It’s always difficult to come back from winter, three-year-old against your own age, straight into spring – they don’t get much of a break – versus now, he’s really matured and furnished, he looks brilliant.”
The four-year-old finished third in the 1200-metre trial under Mick Dee in what was his first public hit-out since the Caulfield Cup last October.
“He’s come back a different horse,” Kent Jnr said.
“Really happy with the way he’s going, his gallops at home have been very good, he’s in fantastic order.
“This morning was good, I was pleased to see there was good pace on in the trial, so he got to just drop his head, travel comfortably over 1200m and he was asked to push out the last 400m.
“To run third was good, he had a healthy blow, but I’d say his recovery was quite good.
“He’s right where we want him.”
With the option to kick off his preparation in Melbourne over the mile on February 8, the gelding will have a Sydney-focused campaign beyond that.
“Circle around the Sydney Cup and work backwards from there,” Kent Jnr said.
“I really think we’ll see the best of him this preparation and going on, we’ve looked after him, he’s relatively lightly raced. As we know with these Kiwi stayers, they keep getting better and better if you look after them.”
