Big Reward for Douglas’s Top colt in 2025 Sandown Guineas

Although Clayton Douglas anticipated Top Reward would justify his short odds on debut, the Mornington trainer was impressed enough by the win to fast-track the colt into a higher-calibre target.

The son of Shamus Award will race for the second time in the $400,000 Group 2 Sandown Guineas at Caulfield this Saturday.

The 1600m challenge arrives 23 days after Top Reward’s convincing victory in a Mornington 1500m maiden, and Douglas believes the effort warranted aiming higher with the $300,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast purchase.

“I thought he’d win first up and he did,” Douglas said.

“We paid a bit of money for him and when you’ve got these colts you pay a bit of money for and there’s race like that there and it’s at the end of the carnival, it’s definitely worth having a crack at.

“He’s shown me nice ability at home, so he’ll definitely be running well.”

Top Reward is currently rated a $15 chance, with Group 3 The Vanity winner Sheza Alibi dominating early betting at $2.20.

To help him adjust to Caulfield’s environment, Douglas took the colt to the track for a familiarisation outing on Tuesday.

“I just brought him out here today for a day out and he’s pulled up well, so I’m looking forward to Saturday,” he said.

“It is a big jump in grade, so hopefully he can take that step but I think he’ll run really well.

“He’s a really lovely laid-back colt and I think even with more time under his belt he’s going to be even better.”

Potential Sandown Guineas opposition includes Burma Star and Tagline—first and second in the Listed Springtime Stakes (1400m) on Melbourne Cup Day—as well as consistent Call Da Vinci and up-and-comer Centu Cavaddi.