Racing: Denman on right track for Guineas challenge

MELBOURNE - Classy colt Denman overcame traffic problems to muscle his way to a commanding first-up victory in the listed Zeditave Stakes at Caulfield yesterday.

Trainer Peter Snowden said his focus was now firmly on the Australian Guineas on March 6 and a second group one for the Golden Rose winner.

The private trainer for Sheikh Mohammed said Denman was right on track for the Guineas (1600m) and he compared the colt favourably with his sire Lonhro and grandsire Octagonal.

"He's definitely thickened up. His work's as good as it's ever been," Snowden said.

"I was around when his father was around and Octagonal and the times they ran, he runs the same sort of times and only good horses can do what they do.

"He's still got a long way to go. At the same stage he's on a par with them but they went on in leaps and bounds. He's got to do the same."

Octagonal, from the first crop of Zabeel, won the Cox Plate as a 3-year-old as well as the AJC Derby the following autumn. As an older horse, he won the Australian Cup and the Tancred Stakes.

Snowden admitted he had a few anxious moments before Denman shouldered his way clear in the straight.

The handsome son of Lonhro, the $1.60 favourite, was travelling well on the home turn behind the leader, Carrara, but then struck traffic problems.

Kerrin McEvoy took him through a narrow gap on the outside of Carrara and once he shouldered Carlton Forward out of the way, he finished explosively.

He scored by 1 lengths from Carrara ($6) with Spacecraft ($17) running on well to be 1 lengths away third.

"He looked good coming to the corner and around the corner I said 'we're in trouble here' but Kerrin did the right thing. He bided his time and gave himself some options," Snowden said.

"I was going in a different direction than he was for a while but he won, that's the main thing. He's got confidence in the horse, which helps. All he needed was half a gap and he picked up the other horse pretty quickly. We know we've got a good horse and it's good to see them win when they are a bit underdone."

Snowden said Denman would have his next start in either the C F Orr Stakes (1400m) or the Wellington Racing Club Stakes (1400m) for 3-year-olds, both at Caulfield on February 6.

He would then go to the Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 20 before the A$750,000 ($936,690) Australian Guineas two weeks later.

- AAP