Emerging stayer King Pedro will make his return to the races at Rosehill on Saturday, lining up in the $2 million Group 2 Hill Stakes.
Plans were thrown up in the air last month when a minor infection forced him to miss some important work. Unfortunately, the timing of the setback ruled him out of his big spring target, The Metropolitan, which was run at Randwick last weekend.
Trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton have had to reassess his spring campaign. Rather than rushing to make up for lost time, the focus is now likely to shift towards a shortened spring ensuring he is given every opportunity to fulfil his potential through the autumn.
However, Saturday’s Hill Stakes provides a lucrative opportunity to get his campaign underway. While the 1900m is short of his best, he heads into the race with a solid foundation of work behind him.
King Pedro wins the Listed Grafton Cup
John O’Shea has been pleased with his progress in recent weeks:
“He’s had a good preparation now. He’s come through his trial well and he’s really happy with himself,”
Kerrin McEvoy will take the ride from barrier six in the field of nine. McEvoy also partnered the gelding in his final piece of work this week and was more than pleased with the manner in which he went about his work heading into Saturday.
He faces a strong field on his return, including multiple Group winner Lindermann, but with a pleasing build-up behind him, Saturday will provide a good starting point as connections assess where the remainder of his campaign may take him.