By Alan Carasso
Asked to concede anywhere between 3 1/2 to 5 kilos to 11 of his fellow juveniles, Royal Symphony (Aus) (Domesday {Aus}) continued his rapid ascent through the grades with a comprehensive 4 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Listed Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at Flemington.
Punted into $1.50 (1-2) favouritism, Royal Symphony was one of the last away from the stalls, but was allowed to find his feet and had improved into about centerfield down the side of the course. Patiently handled by Dwayne Dunn, whose wife Amanda is part of the ownership group, the bay pinched ground at the fence, edged away from the inside at the top of the straight and poured in on in the final 200m, then galloped out well past his rivals (video).
“I don't know how good those horses are behind him–not being disrespectful, but the second horse is a maiden–but when you carry that sort of weight (59kg) and can do that, it shows you're a good horse,” winning trainer Tony McEvoy told Racing.com. The conditioner confirmed that Royal Symphony, now three-from-three, would have a crack at the G1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) Oct. 14.
“He looked like a horse of real substance today, that's what we've always thought of him and, now that we've seen it twice I'm really comfortable putting him away and thinking the spring is the right thing to do,” McEvoy told Racing.com “I've got such a variety of things I can do with him at home at Kildalton Park (in Angaston), so we'll just keep him interested and happy. We'll back right off, keep him trot and cantering and have an English preparation. This Guineas is such a high-pressure, high-powered mile, I think third-up there will give him his best chance.”
Joe and Daira Vella bred Royal Symphony in Victoria under their Wingrove Park banner and the colt was sold privately last April when the he was “not granted entry to Melbourne's Thorougbred auction,” according to information on the Wingrove Park website. Royal Symphony's extended female family includes champion stayer Naturalism (NZ) (Palace Music), winner of the 1992 G1 AJC Derby and his G1 Queensland Oaks-winning full-sister Crystal Palace.
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