He is yet to finish out of the placings and boasts a decision over a subsequent Group One winner, but the lightly raced Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) still needs to convince his trainer he should remain a colt.
It is one of the main reasons Joe Pride is running the three-year-old in an off-season benchmark race at Randwick on Saturday, keen to see how Ceolwulf handles the occasion, along with ensuring his fitness isn’t lagging come the autumn.
“We’re giving him a summer prep because he went ‘shinny’ (shin sore) in the spring and I thought it was going to be a long time going to the autumn without a prep,” Pride said.
“I wanted to test his ability to remain a colt as well, so I’m just giving him this little summer prep.”
Ceolwulf showed significant promise at his initial preparation, placing on debut at Canterbury before breaking his maiden in midweek grade at Warwick Farm.
Stepped quickly up to stakes level, he finished runner-up to Encap in the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) at Rosehill in September and behind him in third was Tom Kitten, who progressed to claim the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes six weeks later.
Pride is hoping that black-type performance proves a reliable measuring stick as he plots a course towards the Sydney autumn carnival with Ceolwulf.
“He ran second in the Ming Dynasty and he split Encap and Tom Kitten, so it was a good effort at his third start in a race,” Pride said.
“I’m kind of thinking to myself that if he goes really well, he could be a Randwick Guineas type of horse.
“That run in the Ming Dynasty tells me he’s not too far off the best of his generation, so why not?
“I don’t think he’ll run a trip, as in 2000-metres plus, but I think he will be a pretty sharp miler.”
Ceolwulf has drawn barrier three for Saturday’s TAB Handicap (1300m) and will be partnered by Tyler Schiller, the young hoop taking his season tally of city wins to 36 with a Warwick Farm double on Wednesday, three behind premiership pacesetter Nash Rawiller who isn’t riding at Randwick.
Pride confirmed Ceolwulf will only have one or two runs over the summer before being freshened for his autumn tilt.
