SIR DELIUS GOES TO THE PADDOCK NOW WITH THE MELBOURNE CUP FIRMLY SET IN HIS SIGHTS

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, May 21, 2025

They bought the horse as a Melbourne Cup prospect and that is exactly what the new owners got for their sizable outlay … and, after confirming his well-being with a resounding Australian debut win in the Group 3 JRA Chairman’s Handicap at Doomben on Saturday, that is how Sir Delius is going to be handled by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott training partnership all the way through to the spring.

That particular and precise focus means that the obvious short-term option for Sir Delius of tackling the Q22 on Stradbroke day has been taken off the table with the decision being made to now give Sir Delius a spell in the paddock before returning for a spring campaign.

There is justifiable exciting surrounding the son on the mighty Frankel.

Sir Delius, a lightly raced four-year-old entire, was a three-time winner from six starts under trainer Jean-Claude Rouget’s care in France when he was purchased for $2.6 million dollars at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale after finishing in eighth place in the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe back in October.

The Arc was the only time Sir Delius finished out of the first three places in France, having won his first three races on the trot … all the way up to a Group 3 success … before finishing third in a Group 1 in only his fourth start and then third in a Group 2 prior to taking on the strong field in the Arc.

Interestingly enough, all of those runs … from day one … were over 2400m with Sir Delius immediately showing his prowess over a staying trip, just as her pedigree predicted.

The JRA Chairman’s Handicap win at Doomben on Saturday came in Sir Delius’s first taste of race action in over seven months over a distance (2000m) known to be short of his best.

“He’s a real quality individual,” said Adrain Bott, speaking directly after the JRA Chairman’s Handicap win.

“He’d shown that previously and you could see the quality in him in the yard today. It was great to see him put it all together and he’s only going to improve from here off the back of that experience.

"He’s still well short of his best distance, and you saw how strong he was through the line. I thought he showed a nice turn of foot and good acceleration, so it’s only up from here.”

On the back of Saturday’s success, Sir Delius has now moved to second favourite in the Melbourne Cup betting at $15.

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