Dom Sutton considering Australian Guineas at Flemington for Feroce

Trainer Dom Sutton is preparing for a big autumn planned for his gelding Feroce. The three year old has raced just once since finishing runner-up in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 12th.

Sutton says he has a lot of options on the table for Feroce, including the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield next month and the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 1.

Autumn in Australia for Feroce

Since he is a New Zealand-bred horse, the first decision that needed to be made about Feroce’s future was whether he would stay in Australia or head back to home country.

After starting his career strong in Oz, Sutton made it very clear that he is hoping to keep Feroce in the Australian circuit this autumn.

“He’s going to trial on the 17th and he’s probably going to kick off in the Autumn Stakes over seven furlongs,” Sutton said.

After that, he explained :“We are heavily leaning towards staying here in Australia and going down the Australian Guineas route instead of heading to New Zealand for their slot race.”

“So many options”

If Sutton does decide to keep Feroce in Australia, he will have plenty of more decisions to make about the three year old’s near-future. He discussed some of the potential options this week.

“There are just so many options for him in the autumn. We’ll gauge it as we go and might even put him in something like the All-Star Mile just in case.”

Trainer “very confident”

Pitching a horse like Feroce for a huge race like the $2.5 million All-Star Mile is a big call from Sutton. Neither the trainer or horse have won a Group 1 race in their careers.

Feroce famously fell short by a head in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas last October. He followed that up with a third-place finish in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m).

Despite that last result, Sutton believes that there were other circumstances that stopped Feroce  from winning last year. He is confident that the gelding has what it takes to be his stable’s star.

“He didn’t get a long time off (before the Carbine Club Stakes)--as they don’t between spring and autumn–so he’s got a really good amount of residual fitness,” Sutton explained.

“He’s probably matured and grown again, he’s a big horse now, and mentally as well he’s learning to relax and do things the right way.

“I’m very confident in the way that he’s going.”