Berkeley Square building towards autumn campaign

Trainer Dan O’Sullivan is set to progress the autumn campaign of Berkeley Square with a barrier trial at Geelong on Tuesday.

O’Sullivan has not mapped out a program for Berkeley Square with the aim of first getting the gelding to find winning form again.

Berkeley Square won four of his first seven starts and was sent out second favourite in the Group 1 Victoria Derby in 2022 before winding up in sixth position.

The gelding then required surgery for a pedal bone injury and was not afforded a break in the paddock ahead of a spring campaign that was halted after finishing last in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

“His spring was disappointing in that he didn’t win a race,” O’Sullivan said.

“In his first few starts, he had no luck, and his style of racing was getting too far back and not being able to finish off in certain races as we would have liked.

“But in saying that, we were racing at a good level, the top level. I wouldn’t mind bringing him back a rung and get his confidence back, everyone’s confidence back.

“I know different people that do form were saying that he’s just a wet-tracker, he was just a three-year-old, but I don’t believe that.”

O’Sullivan said the break Berkeley Square was afforded early in the spring allowed the gelding to let down, get all the hard feed out of his system, and relax.

“Because of the injury that he had, he didn’t go to the paddock for a break, so he was always very full of himself in work,” O’Sullivan said.

“This time he had seven or eight weeks off. All the food was out of him, he was a more relaxed horse and we’ve been able to build him up, rather than us take the edge off him.”

With the spring behind him, O’Sullivan said he would wait until after Tuesday’s trial before mapping out a program for Berkeley Square.

“He’s been in work around eight weeks,” O’Sullivan said.

“We’ve got him entered in a trial on Tuesday and we’ll work out what we do after that.

“All that we want to do is win a race, get him back in the winner’s circle and build from there.”