Hurtle Myrtle will continue as planned and target the Winter Stakes, bypassing the Stradbroke

Hurtle Myrtle was certainly impressive in winning the Dane Ripper Stakes on the weekend but it wasn’t impressive enough for her to earn the Group 1 start.

Trainer Mathew Smith has decided against entering her in the Stradbroke Handicap this weekend and will instead  continue with his original plan.

Smith couldn’t be tempted by the $1 million on offer even after the revised ballot guaranteed him a spot saying he wants to do what’s best for the horse.

“We are going to stick with the same plan and keep her for the Winter Stakes,” Smith said.

“Running her in the Stradbroke and then the Winter Stakes would mean she would have three runs in four weeks.

“She’s the type of horse who takes a little bit of time to get over a race.

“If I was training a different sort of horse, backing up into the Stradbroke would certainly be on the cards.”

Hurtle Myrtle left her run late in the Dane Ripper Stakes but showed plenty of class to nab Zero Rock just before the winning post.

The win made even more special given she spent nearly a year on the sidelines with Smith trying to get her 100 percent fit.

Given the amount of work he’s put in to get her to this position he’s not about to throw it all away, even if it is for a start in Queensland’s feature event of the carnival.

“The Winter Stakes has always been target and now we’ve come this far it would be a shame to fall at the final hurdle by trying our luck in the Stradbroke,” Smith said.

The Winter Stakes will run on the final day of the carnival at Eagle Farm on June 25 and is worth half a million dollars.