Luke Pepper has acknowledged that Opal Ridge’s performance in Saturday’s Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) will determine whether the five-year-old mare is targeted at The Kosciuszko (1200m).
The Rubick-sired mare is currently the $8 third favourite with horse racing bookmakers for the $2 million country feature, but a strong showing in this weekend’s Group 3 could shift her focus towards black-type races.
“We will make an announcement before the tickets are drawn on which direction we’re going,” Pepper told Racing NSW.
“If she was a gelding, it’d be a no-brainer; she’d be going straight to The Kosciuszko.
“But being a mare, stakes wins mean so much to her. We’ve got to build her profile for the breeding barn. You don’t get many chances at stakes level with these mares, so you’ve got to try and make the most of it.
“My feeling is if she’s going well and we’re happy with her, she will run in the Sydney Stakes on the same day (as The Kosciuszko).
“We’ve kept all options open and we’ll make a decision after we get her back to the races. If she comes out and wins, she definitely won’t run in The Kosciuszko.”
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