Cote Atlantique primed for 2026 Aurie’s Star Handicap as trainer plots spring campaign

Trainer Henry Dwyer is counting on Cote Atlantique’s retained fitness to ensure a strong first-up performance in Saturday’s Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington.

The Irish-bred import is returning after a series of races in Victoria, New Zealand, and Brisbane, with Dwyer believing the gelding has progressed optimally through his winter preparation.

Dwyer observed Cote Atlantique’s final workout at Ballarat on Tuesday prior to his own departure for the United Kingdom, where his stable’s prominent runner, Asfoora, is slated to compete in the Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood on Friday night (Melbourne time).

Cote Atlantique delivered several commendable performances during his initial Victorian season, finishing second to the future Group 1 winner Sepals at Caulfield. He followed this with a fourth-place finish behind Evaporate and Transatlantic at Sandown, a duo that subsequently claimed the quinella in the Toorak Handicap.

He also secured a notable victory in the Seymour Cup, defeating the highly-rated Saint George.

Dwyer felt the gelding experienced some ill fortune during his Brisbane campaign but noted that the primary advantage was escaping the harsh Ballarat winter climate.

“He’s fully acclimatised now and he’s had the winter up in Brisbane just to get him out of the cold at Ballarat,” Dwyer remarked. “He was a bit unlucky in a couple of runs up there and he probably should have won a couple with even luck. He’s a good, genuine, honest sort of horse. I think about Listed, Group 3 class. He had those runs up there, he’s had a really light four weeks between runs. He had a gallop on Tuesday, which was pretty much his only gallop in four weeks, but he has good residual fitness.”

“We thought we’d give him a run down the straight and then there’s a nice 1400-metre Listed race, the Leon Macdonald Stakes, in Adelaide three weeks later. It’s a weight-for-age race, he’s rated 100, so it’s a bit hard to place him, but he seems in good order.”

Dwyer stated that the stable intends to carefully select races for Cote Atlantique throughout the spring, aiming for events that best suit the consistent galloper.

“It’s a long spring ahead and there’s plenty of options for him,” Dwyer said. “We’ll find the weakest races we can. He’s been very consistent without winning a lot of races in his time here. I think he’s best at 1400 metres with the blinkers on, so I don’t know if we’ll stretch him out to the mile again. He just gets the mile, but he wants soft tracks too.”

In other news, Dwyer has joined Asfoora in England after the mare arrived in Newmarket on Wednesday, preparing for her Group 2 assignment at Goodwood. This marked the trainer’s initial opportunity to see the mare since her last-place finish in a Group 3 race at Sandown on July 4.

“She seems good,” Dwyer confirmed. “She had 10 days in the paddock after Sandown and is 10 days back in work. She looks terrific. She’s sound, there’s nothing wrong with her. She can run on Friday and hopefully run well and then most likely go to stud.”

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