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Trainer Edward O’Rourke has thrown in a Golden Eagle nomination for lightly raced galloper Iron Man and hopes he can keep the dream alive with a big first-up showing at Rosehill on Saturday.
It might be pie in the sky stuff but the Hawkesbury trainer has a good opinion of the four-year-old who kicks off in the Midway Handicap (1200m) and is more than happy to let him earn his way to something better this spring.
Whether that's the $10 million James Squire Golden Eagle remains to be seen but he's expecting a positive start to the campaign.
"We're going to see how well he progresses through the grades,''Edward O'Rourke said.
"He has a nom for the Golden Eagle just in case, you never know, so we have that option there.
"He has a lot of ability, just getting it out of him is the thing. If he's going well enough he can have a run at it but if he's not going well enough we will go elsewhere."
Iron Man found plenty of bad luck in his last run before a spell over a mile at Kembla back in May, where he ran fourth as a $2.70 chance, and O'Rourke says it should be forgotten.
"You just have to forgive that last day at Kembla, he got smashed out of the gates and they just wiped him out,'' he said.
"He was held in a pocket so he had to come to the inside and that was a no go zone on that day so it was a complete forgive."
With just six starts under his belt and a Kembla maiden win the highlight it's not a surprise that Iron Man doesn't figure in the Golden Eagle betting picture at present.
He will need to use the Silver Eagle and finish top three to gain an exemption so a first-up win is important if he's going to be a chance to sneak into the field for that race in a month.
O'Rourke, who has been based at Hawkesbury since mid-2022 and has 25 in work, stresses even making it to the Eagle is only a dream at the moment.
As far as his first-up assignment goes he said while Iron Man, $5.50 with TAB on Friday, only has one trial under the belt he's there to run well.
That trial, at Hawkesbury, has proven to be a good form pointer with the runner-up Mirra View since winning the Listed Mona Lisa Stakes and fourth placed Lavish Empire an unlucky second during the week.
"He's a nice horse, he was a bit slow maturing mentally and physically he still has a bit to go yet but he's getting there,'' he said.
"He still has a bit of a winter coat but I expect him to perform pretty well and if he keeps progressing who knows where he could end up in the spring.
"He's only had the one trial and he's going to benefit a lot from it, I see there's a few horses come out from behind him and have either won or run well.
"I expect him to run a nice race, have a good blow afterward, and have a lot of improvement to come."
