Group Three winner King Louis has been sent to the spelling paddock with an eye towards elite-level sprint races next season.

 

The John Bary-trained three-year-old disappointed when finishing sixth in the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) last Saturday and Bary said his runner was ready for a break.

 

“I think he was just telling us he has had enough,” he said. “He is just so big and strong, he is 550 kilos and he just decided he was done, he wouldn’t listen to the rider, even with the Norton bit on. 

 

“He is out in the spelling paddock, so whether we get an offer in the next few months when the permits come out (for Hong Kong), great, and if not, the plan is to get into some of the better sprint races where they go hard up front.

 

“We saw what he could do in the Gr.3 Mongolian Khan (Trophy, 1200m) when he won that when he settled back and ran home. 

 

“So I think that is the crucial racing pattern with him. If we can just target those better races where they go harder and he sits back and comes at them.”