Tattersalls Gold Cup first up for Free Eagle
The four-year-old looked set to be a leading player in the last season’s Classics after winning on his racecourse debut and chasing home Australia in two juvenile starts in 2013.
However, the High Chaparral colt suffered a setback that kept him off the track until last September, when he trounced some fair rivals in a Leopardstown Group Three.
Weld felt he merited a crack at the highest level and he was hardly disgraced in finishing third to Noble Mission in the Champion Stakes at Ascot last October.
Free Eagle has yet to run over further than 10 furlongs but Weld believes he should be able to shine over a mile and a half in time, with the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe a long-term target.
He said: “I’m very pleased with him, he’s training nicely. He’s very likely to go straight to the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh without a prep race and we’ll take it from there.
“In terms of trip, I’d be reasonably confident that he’ll be fully effective over a mile and a half as the season progresses.
“His main programme will all be in the second half of the year, with the Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc being the big aims. He’d compare very well with any top-class horse I’ve had. He’s a very good colt.”
Weld, meanwhile, has nominated Zawraq as the likely leading light in his three-year-old division this term.
The Shamardal colt had just one start as a juvenile, beating Aidan O’Brien’s well-regarded Sir Isaac Newton by half a length in a Leopardstown maiden over seven furlongs last October.
Weld was delighted with that effort and is planning to pitch Zawraq into the 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on April 12, as he tries to weigh up his Classic potential.
Weld said: “He had a bit of a cold six weeks before the race at Leopardstown and I know Aidan thinks a lot of Sir Isaac Newton, so I thought he put up a very good performance to win.
“He’s after doing very well over the winter. He’s like a middleweight boxer, powerful and athletic. He has a great mind too, very laid back. Good ground will suit him best.
“He’ll start off in the 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown next month and that will tell us a lot about where we need to go with him. He may want to go further than a mile and I’m hopeful he’ll stay a mile and a half.
“Mentally, you’d say he was more of a Derby horse than a Guineas horse, because he’s so relaxed. He’s a joy to train really. At the moment, he is probably our best three-year-old with the most potential.”
Weld also expects Forgotten Rules to progress after winning each of his three outings last term, culminating in the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot last October.
The trainer said: “He has done very well over the winter and is likely to start off in the Vintage Crop at Navan.
“We think he’s an Ascot Gold Cup horse, the only thing is that he would like some ease in the ground. If the ground is good or even safe good to firm at Ascot, I think he’ll give a very good account of himself.”
Fascinating Rock won both the Ballysax Stakes and the Derrinstown Derby Trial last term but failed to fire in either the English or Irish Derby.
Weld said: “He did us proud last year winning a couple of Group races. He was a sore horse after the Irish Derby last year and possibly the runs at Epsom and the Curragh on fast ground just took their toll on him.
“He had a good break and I’d like to drop him back to a mile for his first start, so I’m looking at the Heritage Stakes at Leopardstown next month.”
Mustajeeb won the seven-furlong Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot last term but after finishing only sixth on his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, Weld thinks a switch back in trip may be key.
He said: “He’s done awfully well over winter and looks magnificent. I’m going to look at dropping him back in trip, as I thought he showed a lot of pace in his run at the Breeders’ Cup.
“I’ll start him off in the Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh and we’ll see how he gets on.”
