ONEMORENOMORE son Tonto shapes as the horse most likely to end Reset gelding Disposition unbeaten sequence when they renew rivalries in Saturday’s $402,000 Group 2 WATC W.A. Guineas (1600m) at Ascot.
Tonto is a winner of four races from his seven starts so far while the Bob Peters’ owned Disposition has won all four of his appearances by comfortable margins.
One of those victories was in the Listed WATC Fairetha Stakes (1400m) where he finished 1.3-lens ahead of the third-placed Tonto who hails from the astute Lou Luciani stables.
“Tonto has done a good deal in his short career so far but obviously this is the biggest test. The favourite (Disposition) is unbeaten a looks a little bit special but in saying that, my horse will improve going to the 1600m and he’ll keep improving as the distances get longer,” Luciani said.
“I am certainly not taking anything away from (Disposition) but the other day, he probably did to us what we would have liked to have done to him. We would have liked to sat on him and had last crack at him but a sit turned it we settled in front of him and then he just peeled off our back into the bend.
“I think the pace of the race (tomorrow) is going to determine it. If it is a walking race it will be a completely different result to if they really flow along, then it will come down to the horse who can best get the mile.”
Tonto’s only run at the 1600m so far was his dazzling 4.8-lens win at Ascot on April 26 with Luciani certin he’ll get over much more gorund again when the times comes.
Luciani has plans to to target next year’s WATC Derby with Tonto, a race that he won with the iron-horse Guyno in 2007.
“Saturday’s race will determine (his summer campaign), if he runs impressively in the Guineas, you’d certainly look at (the Kingstown Town Classic two weeks from tomorrow),” Luciani says.
”If he ran a struggling seventh, it’s time to go to the paddock and get ready for the Derby which is his ultimate goal because it’s up over the ground we think he is going to be suited in.”
