Caulfield Guineas Test Next for Warwoven

Golden Rose hero Warwoven will be asked to break new ground when he tackles Saturday’s $3 million Gr1 Caulfield Guineas over 1600m, with trainer Bjorn Baker confident his outstanding colt can adapt from Sydney’s right-handed racing to the anti-clockwise demands of Caulfield. According to racenet.com.au, Warwoven has raced exclusively in the clockwise direction through his first eight starts, but Baker has deliberately introduced Melbourne-style work at Warwick Farm rather than sending him south for the traditional Guineas Week gallops at Caulfield, giving the son of Sword Of State his first serious anti-clockwise workout last week before another stronger gallop in company on Tuesday. According to racenet.com.au, Baker describes Warwoven as an unusually uncomplicated colt with a temperament that should help him cope with the unfamiliar direction, and the trainer’s confidence is understandable after a campaign in which the three-year-old has progressed from victory in the Gr3 Pago Pago Stakes and Gr2 Run To The Rose to a commanding Gr1 Golden Rose triumph by more than three lengths. Warwoven’s capacity to stretch beyond 1400m is now the central question, but Baker sees compelling reasons to believe the Guineas mile will suit, not least his relaxed racing style and the stamina on the maternal side of his pedigree, with his dam a Gr2 winner over 2000m. The Caulfield Guineas could also determine whether Baker takes an even more ambitious step and sends Warwoven towards the Gr1 Cox Plate over 2040m at Flemington, a possibility the trainer is prepared to entertain should the colt run to expectations on Saturday. That would represent a rapid elevation in distance and opposition, but Warwoven has already demonstrated an ability to absorb pressure while continuing to improve as his campaign has developed. He heads the early Caulfield Guineas market ahead of Blind Raise and is shaping as the principal Sydney challenge against a deep group of three-year-olds assembled from the leading Victorian stables. For Baker, however, the immediate assignment remains straightforward: establish that Warwoven is equally effective turning left and allow his class to carry him through another rise in distance before deciding whether the spring’s weight-for-age championship enters the conversation.

Explosive 3YO colt Warwoven (pic: Bradley Photographers)