Graham Byatt will put up-and-comer Allaboutroy to the test at Royal Randwick on Saturday, with his three-year-old set to contest the $120,000 Class Two Highway Handicap (1200m).
The stars have aligned for the Wagga trainer, with his charge drawing favourably with gate three, while Highway queen Amy McLucas will take the ride.
“It’s all worked out pretty good, and I’ve had a bit of luck with Amy, and I know her pretty well and feel confident putting her on Roy,” Byatt said.
Allaboutroy has impressed in his four starts to date, bringing up two wins and two minor placings, all when racing on his home track.
In April, the youngster won at his second start, and despite racing four wide and doing a heap of work in the early stages of the 1000m Maiden Handicap, Molly Bourke kicked clear on him to record a nearly two-length win.
Over the Wagga carnival, Josh Richards was in the saddle, and Allaboutroy again demonstrated some excellent early pace when settling on the leader’s tail before finding the front close to the post, only to be beaten by half-a-length by subsequent city winner Acapella Sun in the 1200m Class One Handicap.
His most recent start was in the 1300m Class One Handicap, and with Danny Beasley in the saddle, he eventually found the front and hung on for a close victory.
Byatt, who’s had luck with the likes of Lennox Road, Willybeafactor, and Demanding Mo in recent seasons, is happy to have a good one in his yard, and he explained how he ended up with Allaboutroy, who was originally with John Marzol.
“Johnny had two horses out in the paddock, and Bob Jessup, who works for me, owns half of him,” Byatt said.
“We went out, and Bob liked the look of Roy as a two-year-old, so we bought him, and it’s good for him because he does a bloody good job, and I’d be buggered without him; he’s my main man.”
Byatt, who leaves for Sydney on Friday, believes his galloper can put it to a good field of country sprinters.
“I think he looks above average, and it’s about taking that small step every time, but if everything is going right with him on the day, and if he travels well and camps good overnight, he has to be a chance,” Byatt said.
“He has always been carrying a bit of weight, and he’s dropping a stone in weight from his last run, so he won’t know himself, and he’s drawn to run well.”
In fact, Byatt believes his galloper’s close second to Acapella Sun suggests that he is more than up to this class of race.
“If you go on that Acapella Sun form, he’ll be thereabouts,” Byatt said.
“That horse raced in a Benchmark 78 there at Randwick the other day, and it was unlucky not to win, and he won the start before that, and he only just grabbed us on the line on Wagga Cup day.”
The course rating won’t worry Byatt or Allaboutroy, with the Wagga galloper proven on both good and heavy tracks.
“He is versatile, and it’s funny because I wasn’t sure how he would handle the wet because I had never really worked him on a heavy track, but with that Sebring breeding, they seem to handle the wet,” Byatt said.
“Fortunately, he does handle both, and it’s good to have an allrounder in the stable and not have to worry about where you’re nominating.”
Punters can shop around for $14 for Allaboutroy on Saturday, and they will be expecting him to be up around the leaders, although Byatt explained that he was capable of taking a sit in behind the speed.
“We’ve drawn a good gate in three, and we’ll be up there, but the best thing about this horse is that he doesn’t have to lead,” Byatt said.
“These Highways are always high-pressure races with a lot of speed up front, and I would be quite happy if Amy wanted to come back off them a little bit and be running just behind the leaders in the first three or four.”
It’s set to be cracking Highway, and for the field, click here.
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