John O’Shea has made it clear that he’s got big hopes for promising colt Schwarz who heads to Hawkesbury on Saturday.
The Rosemont owned three-year-old has shown plenty of promise in his five-start career but is still chasing a big win and Saturday’s Hawkesbury Guineas looks the race for him to do that.
Fresh off his biggest test to date in the Group 2 Arrowfield, Schwarz has bounced out of that luckless run and considering O’Shea has him pegged as a Group 1 horse in the making, he should be winning a race like this on the weekend.
“We set him for that race (the Arrowfield) and didn’t get any luck. He didn’t do much (work) so he’s in pretty good form,” O’Shea told SENTrack.
“It’s a good race for him. I think he’s a genuine Group 1 horse potentially going forward.”
With rain predicted to hit Hawkesbury on Saturday, O'Shea says he and connections will be keeping a close eye on the track rating and if gets bottomless, they won't run.
“I’m sure he will handle wet ground and there’s a lot to like about him. If it’s too wet he won’t run, I wouldn’t run him on a 10 or something that’s horrendous,” he added.
James McDonald, who has won on him in the past, will ride on Saturday and has drawn perfectly in 2.