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By Ray Hickson

Trainer David Payne says there’s no time like the present to find out if emerging three-year-old Hereward is headed in the direction he suspects later in the year.

Trainer David Payne (Pic: Bradley Photos).

So he elected to forgo a seemingly easier option at Canterbury and throw Hereward in against older horses in the Spelling At Coolmore Mt White Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

The champion expat South African trainer is known for doing the unorthodox and though jumping from a maiden into a Benchmark 72 is far from that there are smaller steps he could have taken.

“He’s a nice horse and I want to test him and see how good he is,’’ Payne said.

“I’ve always had a bit of an opinion of him. He has a light weight, at Canterbury he had barrier nine and 59.5kg.

“You want to test them and he’s got a nice galloping weight with 52kg on his back. We’ll go and see if he stands up then I’ll put him away and target some decent races with him.”

Hereward, $7 with TAB on Thursday, was placed on debut in the Clarendon Stakes at Hawkesbury back in May but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that he notched a maiden win with an all the way success at Canterbury.

It might be that an Australian Derby comes up a bit too soon for the gelding but Payne says everything about him suggests he’s a stayer in the making.

“He should be a Derby horse if you look at his breeding,’’ he said.

“The mare is by Tapit, there’s plenty of stamina there, and the stallion is by Deep Impact.”

Payne said jockey Anna Roper will have options from the barrier to make use of the light weight but it won’t be a lead at all costs approach.

“He’ll be up in the first couple and if something goes we’ll sit behind them,’’ he said.

“He’s still learning, he was overdoing things, but he looks a horse that’s progressing well.

“I think he is above average and I think he should measure up.”

Stablemate Pour Benn’s lead up to a return in the Poseidon Animal Health Plate (1600m) at Kembla Grange falls more in the unorthodox category as he hasn’t raced or trialled publicly since mid-September.

That said, he was due to run at Randwick on Boxing Day but was scratched at the gates when blood was found in a nostril.

“He had a nose bleed in the barriers but we found out he had a cut up in the nostril so it was nothing serious,’’ Payne said.

The gelding has only raced three times, he’s by Payne’s former top stayer Ace High, and the trainer says there is ability there to be unlocked in time.

“He’s fit, I’ve given him plenty of work,’’ he said.

“He’s still immature, he’s still quite a lean horse and he will be better in six months.”

Meanwhile, Payne will be targeting stakes races with talented mare Shohisha when she returns for an autumn campaign.

Hereward wins at Canterbury on December 19

The four-year-old is back in the stable having tried her hand at a couple of Group races in the spring after beating subsequent Epsom Handicap runner-up Fully Lit in a high benchmark mile in early September.

“She’ll win a decent race, she’s got the ability for sure,’’ Payne said.

“I think she is a bit better now with the extra time, we’ll be looking to get a bit of black type with her.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s meeting at Randwick