Trainer Bryce Heys is confident that Sworn To Silence can be competitive when he makes his debut at Group 1 level in the 2015 Royal Randwick Guineas this weekend.
Zac Purton (pictured winning the Caulfield Cup on Admire Rakti) has been booked to ride Sworn Silence in the Royal Randwick Guineas. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Sworn To Silence recorded his maiden race win at Wyong in November of last year and he was set for the Group 1 Royal Randwick Guineas (1600m) before he returned to racing with a second place finish in the Place Multi Handicap (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on January 31 and he hit the line very strongly when eighth in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at the same venue on February 21.
Heys admits that Sworn To Silence faces a very tough assignment against the likes of Hallowed Crown, Sweynesse and Shooting To Win in the Royal Randwick Guineas, but he told Sky Racing HQ that the Keeper gelding has had an ideal preparation for the race and will not be disgraced this weekend.
“He has been programmed towards a mile on the big track and we had it in mind for some time,” Heys said.
“He might be a lightly raced and lowly rated horse, but his previous runs fitted him perfectly in terms of giving him the necessary and right preparation to have him on song to be competitive there on Saturday.
“He has come on significantly and that is what he has been programmed to do.
“He probably got a little bit above himself and he has just had lovely continuity to run a Randwick mile out.
“We are under no illusions about the task at hand and we have enormous respect for the field that there is and we certainly do need to improve.”
Christian Reith partnered Sworn To Silence in the Hobartville Stakes, but leading Hong Kong-based hoop Zac Purton has been booked to ride the three-year-old in the Royal Randwick Guineas.
Heys said that Purton has been a great supporter since he left the John O’Shea stable to set up his own team at the start of last year and he is happy to have the talented jockey on his Royal Randwick Guineas hopeful.
“Zac has been really good to me since I went out by myself in terms of staying in touch and he even went out of his way to ride some work for me during the Hong Kong off-season,” Heys said.
“I have a couple of younger fillies that were going exceptionally well and we had them programmed for him to come down and ride, but they came up short and went amiss with some minor injuries.
“I sounded him out a couple of months ago that we were heading to a Randwick Guineas and would he ride him if we got there and he had no hesitation in saying yes.”
Sworn To Silence is currently available at 2015 Royal Randwick Guineas odds of $17 with Ladbrokes, while Hallowed Crown ($3) and Shooting To Win ($34) are currently locked in a battle for favouritism.
