Sofia Rosa’s on target despite fall at Ellerslie
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh is in familiar territory with his talented filly Sofia Rosa.
She hit the canvas at Ellerslie on Boxing Day after clipping heels in the Eight Carat Classic, but she will return to Auckland on Friday for the Mongolian Khan Royal Stakes.
It’s a case of deja vu for Marsh who saw Lucia Valentina fall in the Great Northern Guineas (when that Group Two event was staged on Boxing Day) before she bounced back to run second in the 2014 Royal Stakes.
“All you want to see is the jockey and the horse come back okay,” he said. “Apart from a few grass burns, Sofia Rosa has thankfully come through it well and she will be backing up. She’s trotted up perfectly and I am more than comfortable about running her again.”
The winner of two of her six starts, the Makfi filly was sent out favourite in the Eight Carat off the back of her impressive resuming victory at Ellerslie earlier this month.
However, the Boxing Day disap- pointment was eased somewhat by the performance of Sofia Rosa’s stablemate Ruud Not Too, who was gallant in defeat behind Capella.
“I was very happy with her and she’s a well-bred filly that the owners paid a fair bit of money for ($220,000) and now she’s group two placed,” Marsh said.
“At this stage she will go to Trentham for the Levin Classic. She’ll meet that good colt Xtravagant, but she deserves a go and she’s better-suited to staying at a mile.”