Where to next for Warwoven?

Warwoven’s Golden Rose triumph has delivered a career-defining moment for Ridgmont Farm with Mitch Cunningham describing the colt’s Group 1 success as the highlight of their racing lives, but where will the colt go next?

Cunningham joined SENTrack & RSN's Giddy Up with Gareth Hall to reflect on the three-year-old’s dominant victory at Rosehill on Saturday, which came after a frustrating setback around the Magic Millions earlier in the year.

“That’s got to be the highlight of our racing lives, I think there’s probably a few ingredients to that,” Cunningham said.

“Obviously, the disappointment we had with Warwoven around Magic Millions time made this win on Saturday so special.

“It was really tough on Magic Millions morning because we were really confident with him. It was just a differing of opinions with the horse on the day, and we thought he was ready to go.

“The horse was ready to go in our opinion, but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.”

Warwoven’s Golden Rose performance has also strengthened Cunnington’s belief that the colt can reach the highest level, with trainer Bjorn Baker showing plenty of confidence in the son of Capitalist throughout the spring.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen Bjorn as confident before. Usually during the spring carnival he is a bit more reserved, but he was super keen on him,” Cunningham said.

“Bjorn has always wanted to look after the horse and we really think we can get to the top with him.”

The Golden Rose is also a significant result from a breeding perspective, with Cunnington noting the difference between Warwoven and some of Ridgmont Farm’s previous stallion prospects.

“Obviously, he is a bit different from a stallion point of view compared to the likes of Storm Boy and Paradoxium, because those two relied on future upside, whereas Warwoven has already won his Grand Final, with the Golden Rose being an extraordinary stallion-making race,” Cunningham said.

“What he has done for us now is win it convincingly, and you’d be in a completely different story if he had just sort of fallen in, so I suppose he now holds more obvious value.

“But look, Bjorn is still keen on him improving right throughout his three-year-old campaign, and we’re pretty keen on riding the wave with him and the connections.”

Attention will now turn to whether Warwoven can stretch out over further ground, with a potential Cox Plate tilt remaining an ambition for the colt later in the spring.

“When asked about a potential Cox Plate tilt, Bjorn has always been of the view that he is going to be able to get a trip, on the dam side it definitely reads that way,” Cunningham said.

“We will see how he goes in the Caulfield Guineas first and how he runs over a mile.

“The Cox Plate is obviously the dream, but it’s uncharted territory and we are just taking it race by race at this stage.”

With Warwoven now firmly established as a Group 1 winner, Cunningham and the Ridgmont Farm team can look ahead to the remainder of his three-year-old campaign with plenty of optimism, with the Golden Rose success adding significant value to a colt they already believed had the ability to reach the top.