Stephen Marsh is keeping an open mind about the Guineas race for More Than Ready 3yo Serious Satire.
Serious Satire holds nominations for both three-year-old features at Riccarton next month and trainer Stephen Marsh is keeping an open mind on her primary target.
She is the current $3.50 favourite for the Group I 1000 Guineas, but the 2000 Guineas in which she is a $10 chance remains an outside alternative.
Events over Labour Weekend will firm up his plans with Serious Satire to step out in Monday’s Group III Sarten Memorial at Te Rapa while No More Tears will represent the stable in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie on Saturday.
“Serious Satire has had two trips to Hastings and this is her semifinal,” Marsh said. “The Sarten is only half an hour down the road.
“It’s a lot easier on her and she only needs to be out of her box for three hours. She’s very well and she hasn’t missed a beat since she won the Gold Trail.”
No More Tears finished fourth behind her stablemate at Hawke’s Bay and she is only entered for the 1000 Guineas at Christchurch.
“We’ll get this weekend out of the way first,” Marsh said “If they both went super then splitting them up would be food for thought – they could end up being the hardest for each other to beat.
“It was a very good effort from No More Tears in the Gold Trail, she hadn’t had a trial so there is a lot of upside to her as well. She’s bounced out of the race well and she’s right on track for Riccarton.”
Serious Satire will also be joined by Marsh’s 2000 Guineas candidates Billy Mojo, who won a three-year-old event at Rotorua last Saturday, and Rocanto in the Sarten.
The latter was third when resuming in the Listed Northland Breeders’ Stakes before a below par run in the Hawke’s Bay Guineas.
“I wonder if the hard first-up run knocked him a bit,” Marsh said. “His work since has been very good and I’m looking for a sharp turnaround from him.”
