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Trainer Stephen Theodore has predicted promising three-year-old Artorius will "break their hearts" with a confidence-boosting win in the Hymettus Hcp (1000m) at Sandown on Wednesday.
Theodore has reverted to midweek class with the Mujahid gelding who he said was still learning how to race after three starts.
"He's just an awesome horse but he does everything back to front," Theodore said.
A Bendigo winner at his race debut last month, Artorius has since finished fourth to The Rhine at Caulfield on August 6 and sixth to Red Dazzler in the Listed Vain Stakes.
"In the Vain Stakes he ran his first 600 metres in 33 seconds but you've got to be doing that at the end of the race, not at the start of the race," Theodore said.
"He is just mentally immature and doesn't know how to put it all together.
"So I thought the best way to teach him is to take him back to midweek class, back to 1000m and let him use that explosive sprint he's got.
"He'll break their hearts and that will get a bit of confidence back into the horse.
"Each time he goes to the races he is learning something new and it's just a matter of if he is going to mentally tough enough this spring.
"The horse will be the commander of his own destiny."
Theodore said Artorius was such a quick a horse he would not be out of his depth with a light weight against open class gallopers.
"I'd love to throw him in against the older sprinters," Theodore said.
"If he starts learning quickly enough we can train him to get a bit of a distance but if keeps going out there and putting his eggs in the one basket then we can look at getting him up against the older horses.
"Because of his explosive turn of foot they couldn't keep up with him and if he can get into a race with 50 kilos on his back you wouldn't know what he could do.
"I'm sure they would have a hard time catching him."
© 2010 Published 30/08/05
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