Chris Waller has the racing industry's top races in his sights after Coastwatch secured an impressive Ming Dynasty victory at Kembla Grange on Saturday.
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The colt claimed the 1400 metres Group 3 contest ahead of Annabel Neasham's Military Expert and Matthew Dunn's Subterranean.
Waller has watched Coastwatch develop from a promising two-year-old into a dominant three-year-old and the master trainer is confident the horse will become a Group 1 mainstay in the years to come.
"A little bit of time's helped him," Waller told Sky Racing. "He showed some ability at two, but he didn't know what it was all about. Now he's matured into a three-year-old, you can see the difference.
"Obviously he still has a long way to go, but he's got the scope to improve.
"I think he's a Randwick Guineas, even a Doncaster horse in the autumn. The owners will have plenty of fun with him."
Kembla Grange has proved a happy hunting ground for the colt after an eye-catching second behind Tiger Of Malay in the Group 3 Up and Coming Stakes a fortnight ago.
That saw Coastwatch installed favourite on Saturday and he did not disappoint for jockey James McDonald.
"He went up a notch, which he needed to against these good opposition," McDonald said. "He's a very smart horse, he's got a really good mind to him and he's got a great turn of foot.
"On good ground, he just comes into his own. I reckon we'll see the best of him when he gets over a mile-2000m. This time next year, he'll be a pretty good horse."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
