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New Zealand raider looking to bounce back from disappointing Randwick Guineas performance

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Aegon (Sacred Falls) will be given the chance to make amends for his below par performance in last Saturday’s Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) when he tackles the Doncaster Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m). 

In finishing the sixth in the Randwick Group 1, the son of Sacred Falls (O’Reilly) was tasting defeat for the first time in his career and Forsman said the gelding, who landed the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in November, did not cope with the quick turnaround following his victory in the Hobartville Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) two weeks’ before the Group 1. 

"It was a pretty flat run," Forsman said. "We weren't quite sure what to make of it, but we are thankful that he has come through it unscathed.

"All we can put it down to is that he didn't handle for the first time in his life having to run on a two-week back-up. We have always kept him fresh and it's pretty obvious the reason why.

"He is fine and we will give him a quiet few days and then reassess our options."

The intention was to run the gelding in the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) on Saturday-week, but Forsman said he would likely bypass the Group 1 and instead be aimed at the Doncaster Handicap on April 3, which gives him a longer time to recover from his most recent run. 

"Realistically we are more leaning towards just running in the Doncaster, but we are not getting too carried away with plans just yet," Forsman said.