Catalyst looks set for a big spring in Sydney after impressing connections in his 1100m trial at Taupo on Wednesday.
The highly rated four-year-old jumped well from the gates and did it easy, taking the lead at the turn and recording a relaxed 1.75L win.
Trainer Clayton Chipperfield was optimistic about the upcoming campaign, hinting that there is plenty of improvement to come from the galloper.
“To see him bounce out of the gates like that and put himself right there was encouraging going forward”, he said.
“He’s a lot stronger in his action and he’s mentally stronger as well. In trackwork he gets on the bit and works under me whereas last time he just plopped around and did everything I wanted him to do.”
Catalyst is set to fly out to Sydney on the 14th of September, with his first run penciled in as the Group 2 The Shorts (1100m) on September 19th.
The son of Darci Brahma had an outstanding undefeated three-year-old season in New Zealand, collecting four Group level wins, before narrowly going down to Alligator Blood in a memorable CS Hayes Stakes, and finishing down the track in the Australian Guineas.
Watch Catalyst narrowly beaten in the CS Hayes:
The Best of the Autumn 2020 – The CS Hayes Stakes provided us with one of the most impressive duels of the year – Alligator Blood V Catalyst. What a battle! pic.twitter.com/QaRRLZUymN
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) April 27, 2020
