Sofia Rosa decision after Otaki
Stephen Marsh will set Sofia Rosa’s autumn programme in stone after she runs at Otaki on Saturday.
His dream goal for the mare is the $A4 million group one Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but he will temporarily put thoughts of a path to the April 8 feature at Randwick on hold with his immediate focus on the group one Haunui Farm WFA Classic.
Sofia Rosa opened her current campaign on an encouraging note when she finished seventh in the group one NRM Sprint at Te Rapa a fortnight ago.
“She got a long way back in the running and she got home really well over the last bit,” Marsh said.
“I would have liked three weeks between runs, but that can’t be helped. In saying that, she bounced through the run really nicely and we expect her to go well again.
“We will confirm the programme after the weekend. There’s a few options and she could go to the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes or we could go straight to Australia and take it from there.”
Sofia Rosa failed to come up last spring following her autumn success in Sydney in the group one ATC Oaks.
“She’s just a different horse this time around,” Marsh said.