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The late Sydney Autumn and Brisbane Winter saw Hawaii Five Oh emerge as a surprise contender, and it seems that the horse has returned in top form. In Tuesday's first trial at Rosehill, Hawaii Five Oh led all the way to beat a field of notable stars.
During the trial at Rosehill, Hawaii Five Oh, ridden by Adam Hyeronimous from an outside gate, jumped well and maintained a length advantage over Ruthless Dame (NZ) and Mazu, both Group One winners.
This horse has always shown talent but was beaten in the first two runs last season before winning the Gr.3 Hawkesbury Guineas followed by winning the Gr.3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) and placing third in the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap to Think About It. With this being Hawaii Five Oh's second trial, co-trainer Adrian Bott believes that the I Am Invincible entire is ready to race.
"First time out he was given a relatively quiet trial at Warwick Farm but today there was a bit more intent, a bit more purpose," Bott told Sky Racing.
"Good to see the horse putting himself there and actually wanting to do that and take it up, showing some good speed… he's open to some good improvement off the back of that this morning so he'll look to head towards The Shorts now," Bott said.
The Group Two race, The Shorts, at Randwick next Saturday has traditionally served as an important preparation race for The Everest. However, it is unlikely that top sprinters Giga Kick or I Wish I Win will be participating in this event.
In Tuesday's trial, Kibou and Converge joined Waterhouse & Bott. Kibou finished sixth, falling behind by three lengths, while Converge settled in the back of the pack. Ultimately, Converge finished seventh, with a gap of just over eight lengths between them and the winner.
"I feel he's right on track, he's going to resume Saturday week as well in a 1200 Benchmark. I feel he's back in really good shape and going well," Bott said.