A good performance by Ygritte in the Group 3 $150,000 TBV Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday will see the filly return to Sydney for the two year old Group 1s late in the Autumn Carnival.
Ygritte, red cap, runs second to Mossfun in Widden Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart.
Even though Rosehill trainer Gerald Ryan has a high opinion of Ygritte, he deliberately left her out of Golden Slipper calculations and if he is right the Snitzel filly will head towards the Group 1 $1m Inglis ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 12 and the Group 1 $400,000 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 26.
“My feeling is if she is a good filly she would be a Sires or Champagne horse, and that’s why we left her out of the Golden Slipper,” Ryan told Racing Network.
“I’ve always felt she would be better over a bit of ground.”
Ryan had always planned to run Ygritte in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes for the two year old fillies and the filly cemented a trip to Melbourne with a resounding second to Mossfun in the Group 3 $150,000 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on February 15.
“We have aimed all along at this race down the straight with her,” Ryan said.
“She got back and came from last that day and ran on hard and she seemed to handle the cut out of the ground as well.”
Mossfun made the Widden Stakes form look good when she kept her unbeaten record intact and made it three from three with a win in the Group 2 $250,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on March 1 and was promoted to equal second favourite with Unencumbered at $7.50 for the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on April 5.
Blue Diamond Stakes winner Earthquake holds the top spot with Ladbrokes.com.au at $2.90.
Melbourne jockey Vlad Duric will be the third rider in as many starts for Ygritte with Chad Lever steering her to her debut win over 1000m in a two year old maiden at Kembla Grange on February 1 and Jay Ford was on board when second in the Widden Stakes.
Ryan has added the winkers to Ygritte and the filly will jump from gate five in the ten horse field.
The Ciaron Maheer trained Top Sight with Michelle Payne will be the hardest to beat if she can repeat her last start effort that saw her run fourth to Earthquake in the Group 3 $150,000 Sportingbet Blue Diamond Prelude (Fillies) (1100m) at Caulfield on February 8.
