Captain Nemo torpedoed astern leaving Argyle to chase the diamonds at Albion Park

Captain Nemo doesn’t realise it yet but he came back from the vet clinic yesterday minus some extraneous gear.

The five-year-old earned a small reprieve from being gelded with a close second last month but Brisbane trainer Mark Dux finally called time on his days as a colt.

“There’s no benefit for him being a colt. He’s better off a gelding, he’ll be a better racehorse.

“We did it at the clinic in case something went wrong, as he’s an older horse, but all’s well. He got home yesterday afternoon and, while a bit stiff and sore, he was very bright and is eating well.

“He doesn’t quite know he’s a gelding yet, that will take a month to six weeks (when his testosterone levels drop).”

Captain Nemo has won seven races in Queensland for Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street and their partners, often doing it tough, but lost form in the last four months and started to prove a bit of a handful.

“Hopefully he might turn the corner now and race like the Nemo of old.”

The newest stable recruit, Argyle, was gelded long before he transferred from Lincoln Farms to Dux and while his form has been patchy, it’s not through lack of trying, rather difficulty in finding the right race for him.

On Saturday night at Albion Park he looks to be up against it again, drawn badly in six against tough opposition.

“He has a shocking alley in a very strong race,” says Dux. “Some of these horses are going places.

“While he’s a nice horse, he’s not going to the top and you don’t win from bad draws unless you’re exceptional. You need the right trip when you’re going these fast times.”

Argyle paced a tidy 1:53.26 mile rate for 1660 metres last start but could finish only seventh behind Future Assured, who clocked a swift 1:51.3.

“I know he ran only seventh but I was really happy with the run. He was four deep from the draw then held up a couple of times.

“The winner is a nice horse but we ran second to it once so it’s not like we can’t go with it.” In his first start in the state last November, Argyle chased home Future Assured in the Group III Sunshine Stars Classic.

Dux can see Saturday’s race being run at another hectic clip with My Ultimate Byron again engaged.

“My Ultimate Byron could nearly lead the way it wanted to run last time, he couldn’t hang on to it.”

Dux says he’s really happy with Argyle and his recent work and, had he drawn closer to the inside, he’d have rated him some sort of a chance.

“From six you know you’re up against it though. I don’t expect him to win from there - he’d need a lot of luck and a good drive - but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run well.”

Argyle races at 8.48pm NZ time at Albion Park on Saturday night.