Trapeze Warrior will be on trial for a crack at bigger races when he steps out at Geelong’s new feature meeting this Saturday.
The $175,000 three-year-old event over 1100 metres that is Race 5 on the card will be just the second start for the son of Trapeze Artist, following a Cranbourne maiden win, and trainer Phillip Stokes is keen to see him demand being directed at Black Type races.
“If he ran well in that, there’s a Stakes race, the Manfred, that would be the plan,” the Pakenham trainer said.
“He’s still intact as a colt, so we’ll aim high and see how we go.”
The $200,000 Group 3 Manfred Stakes (1200m) will be run at Caulfield on January 26.
It is a long way from the Cranbourne maiden he won on December 15 but Stokes pointed to the fact the margins were 2-1/4 lengths by 4-1/2 lengths and he ran 1:10.75 for 1200m on debut as an endorsement of the performance.
“I saw everything I wanted to see,” Stokes said.
“The time was good and the way they spaced the others, I thought it was a pretty impressive win.”
An $850,000 buy at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Trapeze Warrior’s journey to the track hasn’t been a straight-forward one but Stokes said his owners’ willingness to be patient has given Trapeze Warrior his chance to shine.
“They have been patient, that’s why they’ve been rewarded and hopefully now this will be his time,” Stokes said.
“He had shin-soreness and just little niggling things that have just taken time, but he seems to be over them now.”