It may only have been a lowly Class 2 race over 1200m last Thursday, July 30, at Gosford, but the Kim Waugh trained grey His Majesty left quite an impression on those who witnessed the ease of his three length victory.
For those who aren’t aware, this now six-year-old gelding is a full brother to the recently retired stallion Puissance De Lune, last year’s early favourite for the Melbourne Cup.
This horse did win one of his three starts in his first preparation here late last spring, and it probably should have been two, given he was largely undone by a track leader bias at Wyong when placed at his Australian debut.
This win was a major improvement though, and one wonders just how far he can progress this spring.
He travelled easily throughout the race, and quickly put the issue beyond doubt, and hit the finishing line hard.
Puissance De Lune won two of his first three starts in Australia in the Autumn before a six month spell, so although the seasons don’t match, the initial three start preparation is identical.
His Majesty would probably need to keep progressing at a rapid rate this spring to leave an indelible mark on Australian racing, but comments by jockey Blake Shinn on Kim Waugh’s website might give us a guide to where he is headed.
In comparison to Puissance De Lune and races 2000m plus Shinn says, “If he can get out to those trips with the sprint that he has, who knows where he’ll end up, He’s an exciting horse, but he’s still a bit of a kid”.
His behaviour at Gosford seemed exemplary to me, but the “kid” reference means he has a bit of learning to do. Hopefully he can grow up very quickly!
It’s interesting to note that both he and his brother are striking greys. Shamardal, their sire, was a Brown stallion, but the dam Princess Serena was a Grey mare, sired by the Grey stallion Unbridled’s Song, who has produced some very decent stayers.
Could it be that His Majesty does have similar staying blood in his veins? Even if he does lack that same stamina though, all is not lost. He could still be very effective at a mile or less on what we saw last week.
Unlike his more famous brother he isn’t an Entire (stallion) but his early form in England didn’t exactly set the world on fire. In his second preparation here we could well be seeing the benefit of being gelded before arrival.
From what I know, it can six to twelve months for a horse to fully mature after that surgery, so it’s realistic to assume he is the real deal now.
Admittedly he has a long way to go to match, or better the deeds of Puissance De Lune, but racegoers do love a top class grey racehorse. Hopefully we are looking at the next instalment.
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