\u201cWe had Bruno Queiroz on her today, who we\u2019re hoping will ride her in the Group One,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got familiar with her and she settled nicely for him, she was only out there for a canter so we were pleased with how willing she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The daughter of Iffraaj accumulated more than $500,000 in earnings in just four starts last term, but Scott indicated she is likely to have a busier schedule in her 5-year-old season.<\/p>\n
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAll roads lead to the first one at this stage, we\u2019ll look to trial her again on the 17th or the 26th [of August], depending on the weather,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom there, we\u2019ll get through the Proisir Plate on the 6th [of September] and we are looking to get a little more racing into her this season than she did last year.<\/p>\n \u201cIn saying that, she\u2019s going to show us the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Another lightly-raced mare in Tomodachi is heading for her elite-level debut in the Proisir Plate, having won three of her four starts including the Group 3 Rotorua ITM Stakes (1400m) last term as a 4-year-old.<\/p>\n Discover more<\/p>\n The exciting Tarzino mare was full of running in her 900m trial, which O\u2019Sullivan expects she will take good improvement from.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019ll take good benefit from today\u2019s outing, she was pretty keen through the run, but she was similar to that last campaign,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s coming along well, so she\u2019ll have another quiet trial and all going well, she\u2019ll go into the Proisir Plate as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Matamata trainers hope to have a trio of contenders in the Ellerslie feature with Checkmate also in consideration, but are willing to take a more conservative approach with the gelding.<\/p>\n A stakes winner and place-getter in the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), Checkmate pleased O\u2019Sullivan and Scott with a strong resuming effort over 900m on Monday, but they are hoping to see further improvement condition-wise before heading to a big assignment such as the Proisir Plate.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s coming up steadily, he was one of the horses looking further away in the coat today,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHis trial was very encouraging, Warren [Kennedy] rode him and he knows him well and he thinks he\u2019s got a little bit stronger. We\u2019re ever hopeful, we\u2019re just hoping he can improve a little more in coat and condition over the next three or four weeks before kicking him off.<\/p>\n \u201cHis next trial is going to tell us if he will be there in that first Group One of the season, that\u2019s where we\u2019ll look to kick him off as he has performed well around Ellerslie before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really mindful of looking after him through the first half of the season, as we think he\u2019ll certainly be stronger in the back half.\u201d<\/p>\n Wexford was also represented later on by promising 3-year-old Varjak, who defeated subsequent stakes winner Towering Vision in his sole juvenile outing in mid-April.<\/p>\n In the colours of JML Bloodstock, Varjak had a quiet outing in a competitive age-group trial, working well to the line under Masa Hashizume.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always planned to do so [have the one juvenile start], with the idea of hopefully coming up well enough to compete in those better 3-year-old races,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n