James Cummings’ Polyglot eyeing Eskimo Prince Stakes after Rosehill win

After winning the Precise Air Benchmark 72 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on Saturday, Godolphin are weighing up what’s next for Polyglot. The James Cummings-trained gelding cruised to victory as the betting sites favourite in that race.

His trainer and owners now think he could be ready to try his luck in handicap races. The Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) at Randwick next month is another strong possibility for Polyglot.

‘We have unlocked his potential’

Part of the reason James Cummings and Godolphin Racing are still uncertain about what to do with Polyglot next is because they know he is a horse with a lot of potential.

They say that they have to be deliberate with the three year old and take time with difficult decisions, like when they opted to geld the galloper back in September.

Thankfully, Cummings says they made the right call and have “unlocked” the three-year-old by gelding him.

“We had a decision to make. We were faced with it last preparation,” Cummings explained.

“We’re comfortable with that, and we think we have unlocked the potential of a smart horse.”

First run proves success

If there were any doubts about Cummings’ decision being the right one, Polyglot erased them with a strong run on Saturday.

The gelding was the betting apps favourite to win the Precise Air Benchmark 72 with $1.70 odds. However, some horse racing betting experts warned to be wary since he had been away for so long.

Polyglot proved them wrong and won the race by a comfortable 1.5 lengths over Ron Quinton’s Rantan ($10). Winchester ($6.50) finished third.

“First run as a gelding and he has run well…If he keeps winning like that, he will be speaking our language.” Cummings remarked after the race.

‘We need to reflect’

Besides focusing on the race itself, Cummings was relatively tight-lipped about what is next for Polyglot.

“We’ll reflect on the ratings after his win today,” he said.

However, he quickly added that his team were considering multiple options for the three-year-old, including the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick on February 8.

“There is a handicap for three and four-year-olds in a couple of weeks, or if we want to step him up, we could go to the Eskimo Prince in three weeks,” Cumming said.

“We will make that decision in the next week. But I like the way he has returned.”