Potential Group One contender Golden Century will have his chance to shine on Sunday when he steps up to a middle distance on a roomier track.
The highly regarded son of Pierro has yet to open his account and is presented with a grand opportunity to bank a winning cheque in the Listed Gingernuts Salver (2100m) on the big stage at Ellerslie.
Golden Century ran third in his first two appearances at Taupo and Te Aroha before he changed hands and finished runner-up at Rotorua in his first outing for new owner OTI Racing and will again be ridden by Ryan Elliot.
“He’s a real stayer and has been around tighter circuits and being the big horse he is, he’s going to appreciate the bigger track,” trainer Tony Pike said.
“The 2100m will be right up his alley, he is still a very green horse but he’s improving with racing.”
A top performance in the Salver will likely see Golden Century’s path toward the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) firmed up and his current $31 quote for the Classic tumble.
“He was bought by OTI and his future lies in Australia, but they will look at leaving him here for our Derby depending how he progresses in his next couple of runs,” Pike said.
The above is an article from breednet.com and can be read in full here.