Doomben delight: $2.7m import Sir Delius to step out on Saturday for new trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott

A $2.7m import will add intrigue to Doomben 10,000 day card as Sir Delius has his first Australian start for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

A $A2.7m European purchase last seen racing in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe adds intrigue to Doomben 10,000 day.

Sir Delius, known as Delius in his former racing career Europe, will step out for the first time Down Under when he carries 60kg in the Group 3 Chairman’s Handicap (2000m) for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and his new owners.

Purchased for a record-breaking 1.3 million guineas ($A2.7 million) at the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale at Newmarket last October, Sir Delius won three of his six starts for French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget.

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Last seen finishing eighth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the son of champion galloper Frankel is the $2.50 favourite to make a winning Australian debut after having two trials in Sydney.

Bott said the Queensland winter carnival shaped as the perfect springboard to give the four-year-old a foundation for a Cups tilt during the Melbourne spring carnival.

Sir Delius is expected to enjoy the likely heavy track conditions he will encounter at Doomben.

Three out of three for Delius! 🙌

The Frankel colt picks up the G3 Prix du Lys, advancing to the front approaching the final furlong to defeat Saganti nicely... pic.twitter.com/kn3a9oQJlT

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2024

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“By no means are you going to be seeing the best of him there on Saturday,” Bott told Racenet.

“But we would like to give him a run or two there through the winter, in the hope we can see him conditioned and ready for the spring carnival.

“He is up in Brisbane and will be trying to add to his CV, for sure.

“He looks well placed on Saturday, although he’s obviously going to carry a bit of weight.

“We have got him there as forward as we can, he hasn’t raced for a while, but we have got him as fit as he can be and he is there to be trying to be winning.

“I think he will enjoy a heavy track, he trialled on a heavy track and looks to have a bit of heavy track form.

“A dour test on Saturday isn’t going to be an issue for him.”

DELIUS (GB) sells for 1,300,000gns at the @Tattersalls1766 Autumn HIT Sale! 💥

The Gr.1 placed colt & Arc runner was bought for @GaiWaterhouse1 & @gobloodstockaus from the @coolmorestud draft, with @Deburghequine conducting the bidding alongside @Claudmill1 & @johnnymckeever1. pic.twitter.com/cYa73vKX8U

— GBRI (@GBRI_UK) October 29, 2024

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Regardless of the result on Saturday, Sir Delius will not back up into the Group 1 Doomben Cup the following Saturday.

However a tilt at the $1.2m Q22 at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke Handicap day next month could be a possibility.

Bott gave an indication of the style of racing to expect from Sir Delius at Doomben.

“I don’t know if he will be a frontrunning type, but in saying that he’s not a completely dour type either,” Bott said.

“He has actually shown quite a bit of natural speed in the trials we have seen.

“He appears to be sharper than some of the horses we have brought over here from Europe previously.

“He is not a horse with necessarily an explosive turn of foot or anything like that, he is a stayer in that regard.

“But, tactically, he can help himself out on Saturday.”

Adrian Bott. Picture: Richard Dobson

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The betting market has the Chairman’s Handicap as a race in two, with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young’s galloper Immediacy the only other horse close to Sir Delius in betting.

Immediacy, striving for three wins in a row after a pair of successes in Victoria, is the $3.50 second pick.

Originally published as Doomben delight: $2.7m import Sir Delius to step out on Saturday for new trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott