Lightly-raced four-year-old Testaguy, who at his race debut beat Melbourne Cup winner Shocking, is furnishing into the horse trainer Steve Richards always hoped he would become.With three wins from eight starts, Testaguy has obvious talent but being a slow-maturing galloper is yet to realise his potential."I always said the longer we give him the better he would be so we have just taken our time with him," Richards said."We have been in no hurry and the owners have been pretty patient."Testaguy

Lightly-raced four-year-old Testaguy, who at his race debut beat Melbourne Cup winner Shocking, is furnishing into the horse trainer Steve Richards always hoped he would become.

With three wins from eight starts, Testaguy has obvious talent but being a slow-maturing galloper is yet to realise his potential.

"I always said the longer we give him the better he would be so we have just taken our time with him," Richards said.

"We have been in no hurry and the owners have been pretty patient."

Testaguy will have his first race appearance for the year in Wednesday's Marmion Handicap (1200m) at Sandown which will be a launching pad for his attack on the Winter Championship Series.

Richards said the difference in Testaguy this campaign was remarkable and that if his looks translated into performances on the track then his connections were in a for an exciting time.

"He is very lightly raced and he got through his grades pretty quickly while still being pretty green and a bit raw," Richards said.

"He has done pretty well in the past but you can see a helluva difference in him now.

"He has really matured and he is bigger and stronger all over.

"It is the best I have had him."

Testaguy didn't officially trial until September 2008 and in his first race campaign a year ago had four starts which included a length win over Shocking at Ballarat and a Flemington win.

Another four starts last spring saw him graduate to open class and win the Golden Mile (1600m) at Bendigo while he rounded out his campaign with a 2-1/2 length fourth to Moonee Valley Cup winner The Sportsman at Caulfield.

Richards is planning a light winter campaign for Testaguy with a view to ramping him up to bigger races in the spring.

He said his Sandown run would ground him for two 1400-metre Flemington Winter Championship heats on June 12 and June 26 with the $200,000 Final (1600m) on July 10.

"I want to give him four runs and put him away and see how he measures up next campaign," Richards said.

"If we give him a light preparation now you never know what he might come back to in the spring."

Testaguy, a Steven King mount, is on the third line of betting at $6 for Wednesday's race behind $4.50 favourite Master Of Design from the Lee Freedman yard and last-start Warrnambool winner Papercut at $4.80.