Young wonder horse matures for mile
GEELONG trainer Michael Roebuck will take his time with “late maturing” galloper Young Douro.
The four-year-old made his stable debut a winning one at Ararat on Thursday, leading all the way to break his maiden over 1310m.
And Young Douro, a horse the trainer told owners may not make it to the track, proved Roebuck wrong in the process.
“I had him for a short period of time and his fetlock blew up a little bit and then I thought he probably wouldn’t make it to the racecourse. I thought he’d struggle,” Roebuck said.
“They (the owners) gave him some time out in the paddock and brought him back to me and we haven’t had a problem since.
“So it’s full credit to them for not listening to me. I think he is still learning and will make vast improvement with each start. He will run a mile, possibly even further.
“He is a late-maturing horse, he is still learning and he has done a good job to win first up after a long spell.”
Before Thursday’s win, Young Douro had only one start with former trainer Kelvin Bourke — a 17-length defeat at Terang.
Bourke also trained his brother, the well-named Mr Zaharakis.
Despite his indifferent debut, Roebuck thought Young Douro was a decent winning chance as he drove up to Ararat.
“He trialled well previous. I thought his trial was good enough to win it,” he said.
Roebuck will now look to find a suitable race at a tight track where Young Douro can hug the rail.
“His next one might be Kyneton over 1450m,” Roebuck said. “We will keep him in the lowest grade we can for now, we will try to keep him winning.”