By Craig Kerry
Warwick Farm trainer Gary Portelli admits it has taken him a while to work out the best path for Verona Rose, and he has not given up on her as a staying prospect.
But for now, he just hopes the bargain buy has not reached her ceiling as she shapes up for her best chance in a group 1 on Saturday in the Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill.
Verona Rose sweeps down the outside to win the Guy Walter Stakes.Credit: Getty Images
The daughter of Castelvecchio, a $40,000 yearling with $706,995 in earnings, put the Coolmore within reach with a career-best victory in the group 2 Guy Walter Stakes (1400m) at Randwick two weeks ago, finishing over the top of Manaal after a dream run under Craig Williams.
She has again drawn well, in four, and Williams is on board. She has a best finish of fourth in three group 1 attempts, the most recent the Epsom Handicap in the spring. Portelli believes the experiences will serve her well in the fillies and mares feature.
“She’s stronger and more mature now, and I think sometimes when you have a crack at those groups 1s, they learn from it as well,” Portelli said of the $10 TAB chance.
“Then physically they come on, which she has.
“It’s a very strong race. Lazzura’s going to be hard to beat. There’s some lightweight horses in there as well, but she gets every chance.
“It will be a different race. I think there will be a lot more speed on, being a bigger field and a group 1, so hopefully they are not as close. If they are midfield, I think that’d be nice, and then he’ll have to extricate her and get her on the right part of the track.”
Verona Rose won her first three starts, including the group 3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m), before stretching out for fourth in the Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) and sixth in the ATC Oaks (2400m). She has since won the Inglis Bracelet (1600m) and placed at group 3 level at 1200m and 1400m.
Portelli knew early on he had an exciting horse, but she has surprised him at shorter trips.
“When she won her maiden, she ran right out of her skin,” he said.
“She’s actually got an Oaks pedigree, so we put her away and we were aiming at the ATC Oaks.
“I think her first up run was 1350m at Wyong, and she pulled out a phenomenal run that day, so it was, right, let’s just keep her fresh and go three weeks into the Kembla Classic. And she pulled out a run there that was unbelievable.
“She then just lost her way a little bit, getting back in slow-run races, and was just a bit plain at the end of 2000 and 2400.
“She spelled, got stronger and went OK that preparation. Then freshened up again, she’s come on again, so hopefully she hasn’t reached her ceiling yet.”
The Coolmore has been the plan this preparation, but Portelli hopes to try Verona Rose again. She also has nominations for the Doncaster Mile and Queen Of The Turf (1600m) this autumn.
“I train her as a sprint-miler at the moment,” he said.
“If the opportunity arises to have a crack at 2000, I’d like to do it down the track because she has a pedigree that suggests she should be very good at 2000 and beyond, and the prize money is massive and sometimes the quality might not be there.
“But at this point we’ll try and get group 1 by her name in these mile races.”
Most Viewed in Sport
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
