NETTUNO TACKLES THE GROUP 2 RUN TO THE ROSE

By Graham Potter | Friday, September 9, 2022

The Tony Gollan trained Nettuno will be looking to add his name to the list of Queensland runners who have scored significant feature race wins in recent times when he tackles the Group 2 Run To The Rose at Rosehill on Saturday.

Nettuno already ticks a number of boxes going into the race.

He is second-up, which theoretically means he should be better with that first-up run under his belt. He has drawn barrier number one. He steps up from 1000m to 1200, a distance over which he is currently unbeaten, having won two in a row over the trip … including the Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial … and, last, but not least, jockey Hugh Bowman stays aboard the son of I Am Invincible.

Nettuno, in fact won his first three starts on the trot before having to settle for second place last time out, when resuming in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes.

While he did taste defeat for the first time in the San Domenico at the hands of Sweet Ride (who he faces again on Saturday), Nettuno did have Swiss Exile, Best Of Bordeaux and Promitto, all of whom will also face the starter in the Run To The Rose, behind him that day, underlining the quality of Nettuno’s last start effort.

"Everything is going well,” said trainer Tony Gollan. “I’m probably happier with him going into this than I was first-up with him … obviously had to travel down for that first run etc.

“He has really settled in beautifully. Randwick feels like home to him now, which is good. He is getting familiar with the place which is great. He’s coat seems beautiful.

“The low draw is important to us,” continued Gollan. “The weather looks pretty cool between now and Saturday, but he is pretty good on all surfaces.

“Obviously it is a very good race … a very competitive field … but we knew that. We knew we were going to get these sorts of horses against us when we go to Sydney in the Spring.

“Overall, there is a really strong bunch of three-year-olds in Australia, and we’ll find out more about where he sits in the pecking order of things after the weekend.

“He was really good in his first run in Sydney, and I think they are going to see an even better version of him on Saturday. He is a better horse again this week.”

Nettuno currently sits on the third line of betting at $5 … behind Best Of Bordeaux ($3.60) and In Secret ($4.80) with Fireburn next on offer at $6.

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