Gringotts aiming for Winx Stakes return

[Wandering Eyes]

Group One winner Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto) has continued to improve with each campaign and connections expect that to again be the case as the rising six-year-old closes in on his seasonal return.

After capturing the Big Dance (1600m) and The Gong (1600m) at the end of last spring, Gringotts returned in the autumn to claim the scalps of Fangirl and Ceolwulf in the Gr.1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m).

He ended his preparation with a midfield finish in the Gr.1 Doncaster Mile, beaten less than two lengths, and trainer Ciaron Maher’s right-hand man in Sydney, Johann Gerard-Dubord, said the gelding had furnished even more.

“Gringotts looks outstanding,” Gerard-Dubord said.

“Every prep he looks better but he has come back stronger again and just looks so healthy.”

Gringotts is set to barrier trial at either Gosford or Warwick Farm this week as he prepares to kick off his campaign in the Gr.1 Winx Stakes (1400m) on August 23.

Gerard-Dubord felt he would probably attract too much weight in an Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) but the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick was an obvious carnival target.

“He will likely start in the Winx Stakes and a race like the King Charles would be a nice race for him,” he said.

“There is the Champions Mile in Melbourne after that.”

Gringotts is by Little Avondale Stud stallion Per Incanto, who is also the sire of stablemate and Gr.1 All Aged Stakes winner Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto).

The latter is on track to trial in early August with connections keen to attract a slot in The Everest (1200m).

“He’s got the right credentials. He’s done a good job, he has done well at Randwick so I think he deserves one,” Gerard-Dubord said of Jimmysstar.

“He is still a bit wintery but he is a lot stronger. He looks like a real sprinter now.”

Like Gringotts, Jimmysstar is a rising six-year-old and Gerard-Dubord says the progeny of Per Incanto are typical of the New Zealand breed and continue to get better with age.

“They’re horses where, if you don’t rush them early, you usually get rewarded later,” he said.

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