Exciting colt Nettuno to make a spring carnival statement in Group 3 San Domenico Stakes

Nettuno is shaping up to be one of the best colts Tony Gollan has trained and he can enhance his reputation by winning the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill.

Unbeaten colt Nettuno winning the Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic at Gold Coast in May. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography

In terms of raw ability, a bullish Tony Gollan has declared unbeaten colt Nettuno has as much as any young horse he has ever had in his stable.

It might seem a big call.

But Gollan qualifies it by saying that it’s now a matter of harnessing that raw ability and turning it into elite performances against the big guns in the spring carnival.

As the $500,000 Queensland colt prepares to put his big reputation on the line in Saturday’s Group 3 San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill, Gollan has given his insight into how highly he rates the winner of three from three.

“With his raw ability, I think he’s right up there with anything I’ve ever had in my stable,” Gollan said.

“I don’t really know how good he is yet. He is one of those young horses who has got a pedigree to improve as he gets older.

“He looks that way, he feels that way. He is still doing some things wrong, he is still a work in progress.

“He has got a lot of ability but I don’t think we know how much he’s got because he is nowhere near the finished product.”

Gollan will have runners in three states on Saturday with a team at Eagle Farm, Nettuno in Sydney and Isotope and The Move in Group 3 races at Caulfield.

The champion trainer will be at Rosehill on Saturday where three-year-old Nettuno – last seen winning the Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic at the Gold Coast in May – will attempt to make it four from four.

Nettuno. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography.

Star jockey Hugh Bowman’s game plan will be to find cover and allow the colt to charge at them in the final stages.

“What we have been trying to do with Nettuno is to get him to settle a little bit better,” Gollan said.

“He’s got great natural speed hopefully this draw (barrier six) allows us to put him into a lovely spot and sit quiet on him and let him finish off well.

“He‘s certainly fit – he is coming off that early winter carnival preparation so he has had less of a break than some horses.”

Nettuno’s three wins have come on rain affected ground but Gollan is confident he can handle any track surface, although a soft track is probably his preferred ground.

Nettuno is a well-backed $5.50 San Domenico second pick.

Meanwhile, Gollan has elected to race speedy colt Spiritualised in Brisbane on Saturday rather than deploy him in the San Domenico.

“The Eagle Farm race is just too nice a race for him,” Gollan said.

Originally published as Exciting colt Nettuno to make a spring carnival statement in Group 3 San Domenico Stakes