Jeff Dore
Juvenile Group One winner Sword of Osman was back in action on the weekend where he pleased Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards with his exhibition gallop between races at Matamata.
Successful in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) as well as the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m) in his two-year-old season, the Savabeel gelding had been freshened after finishing unplaced in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton last month.
“He’s probably more of a sprinter and he’ll resume in the three-year-old 1200m on January 13 at Ellerslie,” Richards said.
“He will then go on to the Mongolian Khan Trophy (Gr.3, 1200m) on Karaka Million night and all going well he could then progress to the weight-for-age sprint (Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint, 1400m) on February 9 at Te Rapa.
“He seems to be coming up well and Opie was happy with the exhibition gallop, so we look forward to seeing him back in action because he’s a pretty smart galloper at best.” – NZ Racing Desk