Sending out juvenile debutants is one of the most exciting parts of the job for Adrian Bott, which will come as no surprise given the stable’s record in two-year-old features, but there is an added air of expectation around the one Bott and Gai Waterhouse will produce at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
Deciduous will own the distinction of being the first runner for The Autumn Sun when he steps out in the appropriately-named $55,000 The Autumn Sun at Arrowfield Plate (1100m).
Bott and Waterhouse had the misfortune of bumping into The Autumn Sun numerous times during the Redoute’s Choice colt’s racing career, which included five Group 1 among eight victories from nine starts, but he is glad to have a few in the stable and delighted with what he has seen from them.
“We quite liked them as a whole though the yearling sales and purchasing, we were fortunate enough to be able to secure a few, and a number seem to be high on our lists judging by their physical type,” Bott said.
“They’ve all been very straight-forward at this early stage and been great to deal with and all have shown plenty of natural ability, which is good to see.”
Deciduous is part of the first crop of 103 live foals, who were conceived off a $77,000 service fee at Arrowfield Stud, which was where he was retired to not long after the death of Arrowfield legend Redoute’s Choice.
He is out of the Japanese mare Bollywood, a daughter of Rulership, and cost $475,000 at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Preparations for his debut have included a Kensington track trial second placing and a speedy win in an 800m Gosford trial on November 21.
Bott suspects Deciduous will ultimately prove at his best over further than Wednesday’s event, but said his precociousness demanded he be taken to the races early.
“He’s performed well in two trials, his latest was a trip away to Gosford and he was given a nice test there but I thought he responded well,” he said.
“He’s shown plenty of natural speed in his early work and while I feel he’s ultimately going to train on to be better suited once he can get up to a mile later in his career, he’s certainly shown enough speed at this early stage to warrant going to the races and warrant being very competitive.”
Deciduous will be ridden by Tim Clark and jump from barrier three in Wednesday’s eight-horse event.