Marcus Tregoning is happy to admit that he is very optimistic about the future of his juvenile miler Cavaleiro, a horse who it is anticipated will make up into a serious performer next season, writes Elliot Slater.
On the face of it the fact that the son of Sir Percy (who was trained by Tregoning to win the 2006 Derby) took four attempts to get off the mark might not appear immensely encouraging, but there was plenty to like about the way Cavaleiro disposed of his rivals in a Chepstow maiden last month on his second attempt over eight furlongs. Second to the decent Martin Chuzzlewhit prior to his run at Chepstow, Hayley Turner’s mount was prevalent among the horse racing betting tips and was unsurprisingly sent off a hot favourite. He never gave his backers any cause for concern, travelling strongly until taking it up on the bridle two furlongs out then coasting to a facile success over Don’t Take Me Alive.
Earlier in the term Cavaleiro had been third on debut in a fair Salisbury maiden before filling the same position behind the smart Caledonian Spring (an impressive three-length winner in listed company ay Haydock recently), and Tregoning admits that the two-year-old has taken more time to mature than he and those who regularly bet on racing had originally anticipated. Now though, the classic-winning handler is convinced that his youngster is on an upward curve and intends to send him next to Newbury for the highly regarded Haynes, Hanson & Clark Conditions Stakes, a race Tregoning won back in 2000 with the high-class Nayef.
Regardless of the outcome of the Newbury event Cavaleiro is most unlikely to run again this term with his trainer being of the opinion that he will strengthen up and make into a seriously good three-year-old prospect next year, a trait likely to be repeated with a number of other Sir Percy progeny who seem to be generally late-maturing types.