Three-week gap perfect for Sir Delius ahead of Ranvet Stakes
Aeliana and Sir Delius are set to clash head-to-head in the Ranvet Stakes, as trainer Adrian Bott counts on the three-week interval since his last run to sharpen him up.
Even with the previous ATC Australian Derby champion heavily backed for the 2000m Saturday feature, Sir Delius lingers as the distinct $3.30 second elect and the lone horse considered a real contender.
This Tulloch Lodge gelding topped betting for the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup last spring until a contentious vet exam failure sidelined him from Victoria's premier meetings.
Coming back with third to Autumn Glow and Aeliana in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m) at Rosehill on February 28 after close to five months off, Bott indicated the galloper gained substantial fitness from the run.
"Three weeks, it has been that real sweet spot to get him to where we need him to be stepping out to 2000," Bott said.
"He is out to his right trip now, and he has shown the necessary improvement. I'm ready to see him bounce back."
Bott recognises fully the stiff opposition Sir Delius meets in Aeliana, dominant across her pair of early-season efforts.
In the lead-up to Verry Elleegant, she was narrowly beaten by Autumn Glow in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) and seeks revenge for a cruelly denied second behind Broadsiding in last year's matching Rosehill Guineas (2000m).
To have any shot at Aeliana, Bott suggested Sir Delius would require a return to the form that captured the spring Group 1 Underwood-Turnbull double.
"The mare was very sharp last start, and she has been excellent this campaign," he said.
"We're going to need to recapture that spring form to be getting to that point of beating her, but I do feel he's on his way there."
Fellow stable runner Alalcance enters both the Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and undercard Manion Cup (2000m).
As Campaldino handles duties for the yard in the Manion Cup, Bott sees the modest Ranvet numbers as a boon for the bold mare to grab Group 1 black-type honours.
"A smaller field at weight-for-age level, it might be a chance for her to try to improve her value with some black type, and she is very good around that 2000 metres," he said.
Find the latest racing betting markets ahead of the Ranvet Stakes showdown.
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