Rising star Another Wil is on a mission to reaffirm his Cox Plate credentials when he bids to maintain his unbeaten run this campaign in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.
The Ciaron Maher-trained gelding is a clear-cut $2.20 pre-post favourite for Saturday’s mile after two outstanding return performances, including first-up when he was back and wide before unleashing a powerhouse finish to post a devastating last-stride win.
Maher’s Sydney foreman Johann Gerard-Dubord oversaw Another Wil’s two-start autumn campaign when he claimed the Doncaster Prelude (1500m) and finished seventh to Celestial Legend on a heavy track in the Doncaster Mile (1600m).
He believes the horse has the potential to be one of racing’s next big things.
“We saw him here last prep and he was mentally still not there, he was still doing a few things wrong,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“His first-up run was pretty incredible, he was wide at the back and to do what he did.
“I think he could be anything, that horse.”
An $18 chance in Cox Plate odds, Another Wil will put himself firmly in the frame for Australasia’s weight-for-age feature with another strong showing at Caulfield, where he also holds an entry for the Might And Power Stakes (2000m).
Gerard-Dubord confirmed the Cox Plate was on the radar if the horse could prove himself at the top level.
“Jamie Kah, when she trialled him last prep at Rosehill she said, ‘I can’t wait to see him go to 2000, he will be a real Cox Plate horse in time,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“It is an option. It’s something they’ve had in mind for a long time, he just needs to show he is up to that.”
The Toorak Handicap (1600m) is one of three Group 1 races at Caulfield on Saturday, the program headlined by the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) for which benchmark colt Broadsiding is a prohibitive $1.60 favourite
The Might And Power Stakes (2000m) rounds out the offering of majors.
