Rebecca Menzies is dreaming of Breeders' Cup glory as she plots the next step for Adonius after the exciting gelding was part-bought by United States-based owners.
The unbeaten juvenile has not been seen since landing his third win in the non-black-type Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes at Chester Racecourse in May, and he has since been partly purchased by the Virginia-based Riverdee and West Paces.
The acquisition played a key part in Adonius missing Royal Ascot, with Menzies instead focusing on a trip to Keeneland at the end of October, and he will take the next step on his Breeders' Cup journey this week with possible engagements July 3 at Sandown Park or the following day in the Prix Yacowlef at Deauville.
"The owners who have bought into him are American and the idea is hopefully in October he'll end up over there, so we're just picking and choosing our battles in the buildup to that end goal," Menzies said.
"We're working back from the Breeders' Cup, so he's got two listed options this week. We'll have to see how the weather plays out as we have to factor in travel considerations, but after that, the big early aim is the Molecomb at Goodwood. I think that's going to suit him really well, and we didn't want to give him a hard race at Ascot with that in mind.
"He had three very quick races, so it's nice to give him that bit of extra time. He's grown in height and filled out a lot, too."
Menzies is savoring each opportunity to run Adonius before the end of the year, when he is slated to leave the County Durham yard and stay with his new owners in the U.S.
"The end goal this season is he'll go there, hopefully he'll run at the Breeders' Cup for me, and then he'll stay over in America," Menzies said.
"We're very lucky to have him while we can. I think he's improved since Chester, but with the targets that we have in mind for him, he'll need to keep improving all season."
Adonius has been the perfect poster boy for Menzies' operation this year, which she is in the process of transforming with a view to upping the quality across both the flat and National Hunt.
"I think people may have got the impression we're scaling the jumping back, but we're not—I was just getting frustrated with the level we were at," she said. "We're on a proper mission to find those good horses to get us to the next level. It's a slow process, but hopefully we can get it where I want it to be."
