Sun won't set on Winx, even if he wins Guineas in style

Connections of Chris Waller's star three year old The Autumn Sun have all but ruled out a challenge to wonder mare Winx as she bids to land her historic fourth Cox Plate - even if the son of Redoute's Choice was to land the Caulfield Guineas.

Oliver Koolman, the managing director of Hermitage Thoroughbreds - owners of The Autumn Sun - are reluctant to take on the youngster's star stablemate, whom Koolman labelled a ''heart breaker''.

'"All roads lead to Caulfield at this stage but Chris only has to find a hair out of turn and we will support his withdrawal from the race,'' Koolman says.

Asked whether the impressive winner of last weekend's $1 million Group One Golden Rose could back up in the Cox Plate, Koolman was emphatic.

''My answer is no,'' he said on Melbourne radio station RSN.

''Chris is conservative. I am a hell of a conservative. He's a lot more bullish than me.

''I wouldn't want to take on Winx with anything ... we know what she is capable of and she breaks hearts.''

The Autumn Sun will be campaigned lightly this spring with a view to preserving his longevity. Although his owners are keen to try him over further, a tilt at the 2500 metre Victoria Derby has been ruled out.

''The Victoria Derby is too soon. (We are) not comfortable with putting him under the pressure of going 2500m at this time of his life.

''He has done more than what we expected ... the intentions were to go to Brisbane try to win a Group One as a two year old (which he did in the JJ Atkins Stakes) then give him an easy spring to set him up for the autumn. I think three runs in the spring is good, exposure to Melbourne, see how he goes on the other leg.''

Hermitage has an adventurous approach to campaigning its star asset, Koolman said, forecasting an ambitious programme later in his career.

''As far as setting him up as a stallion, lets test him out, lets let everyone see what he's got and let the horse do the talking.

''He hasn't got to where we want to get him yet. We at least want to see him finish his three year old year, try him over a bit further and expose him to different distances and maybe different age groups too to see what he really has got.''

It was the now Singapore based Hall of Fame trainer Lee Freedman who sparked the Cox Plate debate, tweeting on Saturday that the colt reminded him of Bart Cummings last great champion So You Think, who won the Cox Plate as a three and four year old before shipping to Aidan O'Brien in Ireland.

The Autumn Sun has only been beaten once in five starts, when an unlucky third on his seasonal reappearance in the Stan Fox Stakes. Some were critical of his regular rider, top jockey Kerrin McEvoy on that occasion, but not Koolman.

''Its all about educating the horse. Kerrin made a decision to take the opportunity to teach the horse to get between runners . We won't always be able to come down the outside. We don't want a one dimensional horse, we want to race him for a long time not a short time.''

*Night's Watch, winner of The Naturalism at Caulfield on Saturday, has been handed a one kilo penalty for both the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups. His win guarantees him a start in the latter, but not in the Melbourne Cup.

Article courtesy of Fairfax Digital and The Brisbane Times