Michael Halford expects to learn a lot from pitching Casamento in at the deep end in the boylesports.com Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.
The Shamardal colt only made his racecourse debut at Tipperary last month, but won in such style that the County Kildare trainer has decided to take the leap into Group One company.
'He's been in great form since he won in Tipperary,' said Halford.
'It's a huge step up for him, but he was very impressive on the day and so we've decided to let him takes his chances.
'It's a big ask for him, it looks a very strong race. He's in good form and we're hoping for a good performance from him.
'We think he's a good horse but whether it's a step too far, too quick we don't know but we like him a lot.
'He's grown up a lot since his run. He's got a lovely temperament, he's a very laid-back horse. You wouldn't be seeing the best of him at home, but his work has improved and he's in really good health.
'We're looking forward to running him and seeing what we have. It will take the run to know how good he is.'
A Word Apart, trained by Dermot Weld, got off the mark at the fourth attempt just a week ago at Leopardstown and is also being asked to raise his game further.
'He won last Saturday, so we thought we would run him here. If you're not in it you can't win. He's a half-brother to Casual Conquest,' said Stan Cosgrove, racing manager for owners the Moyglare Stud.
