Key Ellerslie assignments for Marsh three-year-olds
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh has 14 horses entered across the 10-race card at Ellerslie on Saturday, and more than half of them are three-year-olds facing crucial early-season assignments.
Marsh has proven black-type performers Little Black Dress, Lady Iris and Tale Of The Gypsy in Saturday’s Gr.3 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Sunline Vase (1400m), backed up by a range of emerging age-group talent on the undercard.
Last-start Listed Wanganui Guineas (1200m) placegetters Churmatt and Swiss Prince will contest the NZB Ready to Run Sale Trainers Series 3YO (1400m), while the Join TAB Racing Club (1200m) features first-starters Earlicheer (by Super Seth out of Daffodil) and Well Written (Written Tycoon out of Australian black-type performer Mozzie Monster).
“I think we’ll know a bit more about some of these three-year-olds after Saturday,” Marsh said.
Marsh singled out Churmatt as the three-year-old he was most excited about on Saturday’s card. The son of Churchill was a three-length winner on debut at Rotorua on August 13, then finished only half a length behind quality filly Platinum Diamond when second in the Wanganui Guineas on August 30. There was a three-length margin back to third.
“He’s a three-year-old that we’ve got a lot of time for,” Marsh said. “He ran a top race for second in the Wanganui Guineas last time out, in only his second start, and he won very well before that. I think he’s got a really nice season in front of him.”
Opie Bosson will take the mount on Churmatt, who dominates the market as a $2 favourite for Saturday’s $55,000 race.
Marsh is also upbeat about his Sunline Vase trio, who all acquitted themselves well in black-type features at Ellerslie two weeks ago.
Lady Iris ran third against male three-year-olds in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), while Tale Of The Gypsy was beaten by six lengths into ninth after a tough wide run in the same race. Little Black Dress, who won at Listed level at Ellerslie in the autumn, was a close sixth in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m).
“I thought they all performed with credit that day, and they’ve all gone the right way from there,” Marsh said. “It’s a hot field on Saturday and their performances here will have a real bearing on what we do with them from here.”
Another talented member of Marsh’s Ellerslie team is Tardelli, who will kick off his four-year-old season in the Eagle Technology (1400m).
The well-bred son of I Am Invincible won twice as a three-year-old last season including the inaugural $100,000 Windsor Park Stud 3YO Trophy (1500m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day in March.
He also finished second against older horses in the Gr.3 Easter Handicap (1600m), beaten by a neck by Doctor Askar, and ran third to Savaglee in the Gr.2 Levin Classic (1400m) and to Sethito in the Listed (now Gr.3) Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m).
Tardelli made an unsuccessful raid on the Queensland Winter Carnival, finishing eighth in the Gr.2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) in May, but has pleased Marsh with his progress so far this spring.
He was a two-length trial winner over 1100m at Ellerslie on September 9.
“He’s a horse with a lot of upside,” Marsh said. “His last preparation was very good, and what he’s shown us so far suggests he’s coming up even better this time in.
“I’ve been happy with his two trials. The first one was on a very wet track, and then he scored a lovely win at Ellerslie in his second trial. I think that’s really brought him on and he’s going great ahead of his return to racing.
“We’ll take it one step at a time for now, see what he does at Ellerslie on Saturday and take it from there, but he could find himself in a Matamata Cup (Listed, 1600m) second-up.”
The Matamata Cup will be run on October 4.
