Autumn Boy's Spring Campaign: Unfinished Business Awaits
Prominent trainer Chris Waller believes star colt Autumn Boy has unfinished business to attend to this spring, with the intention to achieve what his father, The Autumn Sun, could not.
The Autumn Sun, also trained by Waller, boasts an impressive record of eight wins from nine starts before his retirement at the end of his three-year-old season to stand at John Messara's Arrowfield Stud.
Waller maintains that The Autumn Sun could have achieved even more as an older horse, a path that Autumn Boy is now set to follow.
"The Autumn Sun – and I think Mr Messara would agree – would have been even better at four, but his value was so high he had to be retired," Waller revealed. "He won five Group One races and only raced for twelve months. When I (first) saw him at the farm, I said, 'Wow. Imagine if he was in work now'.
"We've got that opportunity with Autumn Boy. He's racing on at four and I'm excited about that. There is unfinished business with what we didn't quite see with The Autumn Sun. He might have pressed Winx in a Cox Plate."
Autumn Boy has been carefully handled, with his four victories including Group 1 wins in the Caulfield and Rosehill Guineas, races that his sire also conquered in the 2018-19 season.
The colt has completed one quiet barrier trial and is slated for another, with the Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on August 22 being considered as a potential season opener.
"He's come back amazing," Waller stated. "Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself because we haven't really tested him, but everything we have asked him to do, he's done it well.
"His attitude is fantastic. You hear me talk about attitudes a lot and that's the difference with a (good) colt is their attitude."
Autumn Boy's most recent start saw him finish runner-up to Sheza Alibi in the Doncaster Mile (1600m). He is a prominent figure in the early betting markets for several key spring features, including the Epsom Handicap (1600m), for which he is rated an $8 chance, and the Golden Eagle (1500m), where he is listed at $11.
He is a strong contender for the Epsom Handicap, and you can compare racing betting markets at online bookmakers.
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