RANDWICK trainer Bob Pearse reckons promising mare More Than Royal is “stakes class” but won’t be tempted to make a late dash to Brisbane even if she was to win at Rosehill tomorrow.
More Than Royal (By More Than Ready) is aiming for a hat-trick of wins having strung together emphatic back to back victories on the Kensington track at the midweeks, prompting her first try in Saturday grade in the Saunders Insurance Brokers Hcp (1400m).
“This is the next step-up and she has got to take it to that next level now but she’s ready for it,” Pearse said.
“We haven’t run for three and a half weeks which is a little bit of a break but that’s not bothering me, we just waited for the right race that’s all.
“And I think 1400m is perfect at the moment, I wouldn’t be dropping her back to anything shorter that’s for sure.”
More Than Royal is lightly-raced for her age with 12 starts under the belt, reflecting Pearse’s assessment of the neat bay as a ‘late bloomer’.
It’s the main reason why he is reluctant to tackle stakes company at this stage of her career but that’s not to say her time won’t come, according to her trainer.
“Even though she is four, rising five-years-old, she’s not really mature enough to be taking on the deep end at the moment,” Pearse says.
“Maybe next preparation when she’s a bit stronger.
“Her family is like that and that’s the reason she has taken a while to put it all together and I still don’t think she’s there yet either.
“To be honest, she’s six months away.”
