Little Lady on target for Breeders’ Stakes
Genuine filly Lady Iris (NZ) (US Navy Flag) will bid to crown a rewarding preparation with an overdue stakes success.
The Stephen Marsh-trained three-year-old is at the tail-end of her preparation and will head toward her final outing of the season in winning form.
The daughter of U S Navy Flag accounted for a competitive age group line-up at Trentham on Saturday and will chase the first black-type victory of her career before a deserved break.
“She’s only small, but she is as game as they come and was great again in what I thought was a strong three-year-old race,” Marsh said.
“The Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.3, 1200m) on April 25 at Te Rapa looks the ideal race for her. That will be her last run to cap off a nice season for her.”
Lady Iris has now won two of her last three starts with an unplaced effort on unsuitably wet ground at Tauranga in between.
“She’s a model racehorse, very consistent and the really heavy track at her previous start just got to her. Apart from that, her form has been faultless,” Marsh said.
The filly also finished third behind Affirmative Action (Yes Yes Yes) and He Who Dares (NZ) (Snitzel) in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) and as a two-year-old ran second to stablemate Little Black Dress (Snitzel) in the Listed Star Way Stakes (1200m).
“She really is under-rated and has run in some very good fields and beaten some nice horses,” Marsh said.
Part-owned by co-breeder Ron Saunders, Lady Iris’ dam The Lady (NZ) (Stravinsky) counted the Star Way and Listed Challenge Stakes (1200m) among her three victories and is from the family of three-time Group One winer Sea Siren.
Marsh is currently in Sydney for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and with bloodstock manager Dylan Johnson signed for a daughter of Zoustar out of Newgate Farm’s draft.
“She’s a beautiful filly and A$400,000 is a lot of money, but the way the Zoustars sell I thought it was very good shopping,” he said.
The youngster is out of the winning Pierro mare Quintessa, who ran third in the Gr.1 Australian Oaks (2400m) and in the Gr.3 Arian Knox Stakes (2000m).
“We’ll be trying to get another one or two, but it’s pretty tough going and you have to dig deep in the pocket department,” Marsh said.
On the domestic front this week, he singled out Ocean Rules as one of his best chances at Wednesday’s Pukekohe meeting.
She will line up in the Golf Warehouse Maiden (1400m) off the back of an encouraging resuming effort for fourth at Matamata.
“She was very good first-up and the step to 1400m will be ideal, she’s probably as good a chance as any of ours,” Marsh said.
