Shinzo will make a belated start to his autumn campaign at Rosehill before connections set their sights on one of the carnival’s major sprints.
The 2023 Golden Slipper winner resumes in Saturday’s Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) having recovered from an early setback that put trainer Chris Waller on the back foot.
“He had a temperature early on in the prep and it just put us back a couple of weeks, but since then he has been great and he has been trialling well,” Waller said.
“He is a bigger, stronger version now but he’s first-up, so he’s got improvement to come.”
Shinzo is returning from a light spring in which he contested the Golden Rose and The Everest before placing in the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington.
While Waller wouldn’t have changed anything, he admitted the preparation ended up disjointed on the back of their Everest goal.
“If the Everest wasn’t there his prep would have started earlier and it would have flowed a bit better,” he said.
“Instead, we sat back and waited and he ran first-up in the Golden Rose, second-up in the Everest and then third-up, up the straight.
“It just never fell into place for him. Even in his first-up run things went against him and he never found a rhythm.”
The three-year-old is yet to win fresh and has a pattern of improving as he gets deeper into his preparation.
However, from barrier six on Saturday and with James Mcdonald in the saddle, Waller is anticipating a bold return as the valuable colt heads towards his main aim of the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick next month.
“He is one to follow and the All Aged Stakes is the race he will be set for,” Waller said.
Waller will have up to 15 black-type runners at Rosehill with Roots also lining up in the Star Kingdom Stakes, while his largest representation will be a four-pronged assault on the Emancipation Stakes (1500m) where he has Hinged, Madame Pommery, Vienna Princess and Olentia.
Hinged is coming off an unlucky fifth in the Coolmore Classic as she attempts to break a two-year run of outs, her last win coming in the 2022 Surround Stakes.
“She is a frustrating mare because she has had so many Group One placings and runs like last start,” Waller said.
“It’s the right race for her in the twilight of her career. She should have been fighting out the finish with Zougotcha at her last start.
“She was a bit stiff and she will be better suited to the set weights scale.”
While any moisture in the track will suit Hinged, a firm surface will be to the liking of Vienna Princess, who Waller says struggled on the soft conditions in the Coolmore Classic.
“She found that soft six track a bit wet the other day, (jockey) Kerrin (McEvoy) said her legs were spinning a bit and she is very well suited with 54 kilos,” Waller said.
Waller expects an improved showing from Madame Pommery, who got too far out of her ground from a wide draw in the Coolmore, while Olentia will be in unchartered territory as she extends beyond 1400m for the first time.