Ability on the training track does not always convert to results on the racetrack and for a little while, that was the case with Rosebud favourite Anders.
The colt underwhelmed at his initial campaign, struggling to handle the pressures of race day.
Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace kept faith, giving the horse time to mature and space to learn and he began to repay their investment with two promising wins at the back-end of his juvenile season.
He returns in Saturday’s Listed The Rosebud (1100m) at Rosehill on a mission to take the next step up to black-type grade and all the signs indicate Anders is ready for the challenge.
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“He has always shown a lot of ability at home but he couldn’t translate it to the track as we thought he would in his first prep,” said Annabel Neasham, who runs the Sydney stable of Maher and Eustace.
“He was just doing a few little things wrong.
“The old Anders could get pressured. I think now he relaxes.
“He is an exciting horse for Ciaron for the spring.”
The three-year-old has assumed favouritism for the Rosebud from Kumasi, one of three runners for Gerald Ryan along with Return With Honour and The Face.
The Rosehill meeting will be Neasham’s penultimate Saturday for Maher and Eustace as she prepares to embark on her own training career after being granted 40 boxes at Warwick Farm.
Jack Bruce, who has been working for premier trainer Chris Waller, will take over the reins from Neasham later this month.