Darley Media Manager Jason Walsh has revealed that Blue Diamond Stakes winner Earthquake has returned to racing and will be set for both the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.
Earthquake has returned to work to begin preparations for the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Earthquake was one of the star juvenile performers of the autumn and took out the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m), Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) before finishing a narrow second behind Mossfun in the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on April 5.
The daughter of Exceed And Excel was sent to the spelling paddock following her Golden Slipper defeated and Walsh told Sky Racing HQ that the two-year-old had relished her time away from the stable.
“She spent seven weeks at Osborne Park and actually returned to work yesterday,” Walsh said.
“One of the that made her the great two-year-old that she is, is her great constitution and she is in great order.
“She had a nice temperature going into that Golden Slipper so to give her a nice break like that was really important.
“She is a very tractable filly, she does everything that she is asked and we look forward to getting her going again.
“She gave us every indication that she would definitely progress as a three-year-old and we look forward to giving her a chance.”
Darley dominated the three-year-old fillies’ races with Guelph during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival and Walsh said that Earthquake will follow the same path during her spring campaign.
Earthquake is set to resume in the Group 2 Light Finger Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick and will contest the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) and Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) in Sydney before potentially heading to Melbourne for the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m).
“We will start her in the Princess Series in Sydney with the Flight Stakes as her target,” Walsh said.
“I guess there is a slight unknown there up to a mile, but she is very tractable and we would be confident that if we set her on that path that she should be there to do the job for us.
“We followed that path with Guelph last year and managed to get away with both of them and we certainly rate Earthquake as having that sort of ability in terms of her class.
“She didn’t progress on to the Sires and Champagne as a two-year-old as Guelph did and hopefully that puts us in good stead for the spring.”
Earthquake ($6) is currently a narrow favourite in 2014 Thousand Guineas betting markets from Go Indy Go ($6.50), Bring Me The Maid ($8), Peggy Jean ($8.50) and Mossfun ($10).
