Villermont to target Sandown Guineas

Tom Baddock - Wednesday Oct 18

Brilliant maiden winner Villermont will step out as a short-priced favourite in the Alannah Hill Benchmark 70 Plate (1600m) at Caulfield on Wednesday en route to the Sandown Guineas.

Advertisement
Villermont returns to scale at Benalla after a 5-1/4 length win.

The son of All Too Hard out of Group I winning mare Bollinger put in a strong closing performance on debut at Sandown Hillside over 1400m behind Wassergeist before annihilating a maiden field at Benalla by 5-1/4 lengths over 1600m.

"He was terrific first-up at Sandown and then he went to Benalla and he was a class above," trainer Aaron Purcell said.

"He obviously has to take another step up tomorrow but the way he gets around at home and the presence of the horse would indicate there's better races in store for him.

"Looking at the horse he's very much a stamp of his old man, All Too Hard.

"He's a great big beautiful strong horse and he gallops with the good horses here so we expect him to end up racing with the good horses.

"He's bred to be good and so far he has looked the goods. He's come through last start really well. He looks a million dollars.

"He's really well-prepared for Wednesday."

On the back of his dominant victory Villermont's price tumbled in from as much as $60 into a high of $15 in the Group I Victoria Derby, although the stable has decided on a different route.

"He's probably going to stay at a mile this preparation," Purcell said.

"If he goes well tomorrow he'll probably go to the Carbine Club on Derby Day and then possibly the Sandown Guineas.

"After this preparation we'll reassess what his best distance is.

"There was a discussion that he'd go towards the Victoria Derby but we felt a mile at this stage of his life it would suit him better."

Although the stable believes Villermont will prove extremely difficult to beat on Wednesday they are wary of the wide barrier draw.

"He's probably drawn a bit awkwardly in nine so he's probably going to need a few things to go right for him but I'm sure if things do go right he's going to be really hard to beat tomorrow."

Stablemate Black Sail also lines up in the race and Purcell believes he's also capable of running a good race after being only narrowly beaten last start at Flemington behind Octabello.

"He's another really nice horse," Purcell said.

"Up to the mile is really going to suit him.

"He ran really well at Flemington the other day. There's no reason why he couldn't run well again.

"If he runs well we'll push on towards a race like the Carbine Club also."

Villermont is currently $2.30 with Bet365 to make it two wins on the trot while Black Sail is quoted at $17.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Frankel Heads Juddmonte Euro Roster at £350,000
Fresh from siring outstanding young stayer Point of Law (GB) to win the $10m Group I VRC Melbourne Cup, champion sire Frankel will again top the roster at Banstead Manor Stud for Juddmonte.
Darley Announce 2027 European Fees -Night of Thunder Soars to €450,000
It will be Dubawi central at Darley in 2027 with the legendary 24YO sire priced at £350,000, but the roster is topped by his champion son Night of Thunder at €450,000 and there are three more G1 winning sons or grand-sons of Dubawi also added to a power packed roster.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday November 10
Here is the full list of 16 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Unraced First Season Sires Trial Report
It’s been a pretty steady start to spring in terms of 2YO races and we are still waiting to see a first season sire post a winner, but there has been action aplenty at the trials which would indicate the pre-Christmas period is set to ignite.
Southern Highlands Thoroughbred Week is Out of the Gate!
Celebrating 140 years of racing and thoroughbred culture, Southern Highlands Thoroughbred Week presented by GROW Southern Highlands will span three weekends, from 19th November to 6th December.
Haras d'Etreham Set Fee for Hotazhell
Triple Group I winner Hotazhell will begin his stallion career at Haras d'Etreham in France at a fee of €15,000 next year before then shuttling to Widden Stud in Australia.
Remembering Northerly – The Greatest Caulfield Cup Winner This Century
It's Caulfield Cup week, and what better moment to revisit the life and times of one of the greatest - if not the greatest - Caulfield Cup winner of the modern era.
One to Watch – Mornington
A homebred for Seymour Bloodstock with an intriguing pedigree opened her account with a stylish win at Mornington on Tuesday.
Remembering Sunline – The Queen of the Cox Plate Before Winx
From our vantage point in 2026, we can look back at modern Cox Plate history and marvel at how quickly the years are passing.
Inglis Digital Purchase Iron Hawk to Tackle G3 TAB Mile
Harness racing trainer Barry Purdon bought Iron Hawk last year with New Zealand Cup Week in mind, and now the moment has arrived, with the stakes performer set to tackle the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) at Riccarton on Wednesday.