3 minute read

Coronation Keith delivered another stunning performance in Launceston on Wednesday night to notch his fourth win from only five starts to confirm his status as a serious galloper.

In Brief

• Coronation Keith continues to impress.
• High cruising speed leaves rivals in wake.
• Carr will continue to take small steps with her rising star.

The robust liver chestnut might have had only a small field (6) with which to contend but it was the way he went about demoralising his rivals that suggests he is more than just a horse going through his grades.

His trainer Sigrid Carr has tried to keep a lid on what he might be able to deliver but when a horse keeps on stepping up to the plate and hits home runs, it could be time to start planning for a feature race or two, sooner than later.

Coronation Keith has such a high cruising speed that it often takes his regular rider Troy Baker by surprise and that was again the case in this latest assignment.

"It's quite amazing to sit on this horse and feel the power underneath me, but he does it with so much ease," Baker said.

"He is so strong and when you ask him for a bit more, like I did tonight, he just lifts the tempo and puts the opposition away."

Carr was apprehensive about predicting where the gelded son of Puissance De Lune might end up in the coming months.

"I have to keep telling myself he is a horse just going through his grades and that's how I want to keep it for the time being," Carr said.

"I am blessed to have owners who allow me to train this horse how I want and that gives me the freedom to place him carefully, and for that I am eternally grateful."

Coronation Keith won over 1400m before he was tipped out for a spell in late January for a decent break and he resumed racing in Launceston on 6 October on the back of a trial at Longford a week earlier.

Carr took him to the Longford trials just to sharpen him up for this latest outing where he proceeded to make horses such as And Beyond and Take the Sit look a bit ordinary.

Carr is content not to plan too far ahead with her rising star.

"We'll see how he pulls up from this run and go from there, but I have to admit, he is a bit exciting."

Carr said she was hoping Coronation Keith would eventually be competitive over 2000m or beyond.

Coronation Keith was a problem child in the early days, requiring a lengthy piece of time with a horse-breaker and unofficial horse whisperer Mel Cotton who spent countless hours trying to teach the gelding to overcome some bad manners and difficulty with transitioning to being a racehorse.

The big test for the gelding will come when he is put under pressure by high-grade rivals, but I'm tipping that's when we will see the best of him.