Trainer John Sargent has revealed that Crown Oaks winner Kirramosa could come back to a mile when she resumes her racing career in the autumn.
Classy filly Kirramosa is recovering in the spelling paddock after her tough win in the Crown Oaks. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Kirramosa stamped herself as the leading three-year-old staying filly in Australia with her strong win in the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) and grinding victory in the Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) but Sargent is not convinced that the three-year-olds racing future lies over staying trips.
Alamosa, the sire of Kirramosa, was a champion miler who won the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) in Australia and Sargent believes that Kirramosa may follow the path of Streama, who now competes over a mile after winning the Australian Oaks as a three-year-old.
“I think, like any good trainer would know, that a horse at three can get that extra distance because they have the class,” Sargent said.
“Kirramosa next year at four might be a miler and come back like Streama and co.
“Against their own age group if they have class they can beat them every time.”
Kirramosa was sent straight to the spelling paddock after her win in the Crown Oaks and Sargent said that running in two races over just five days took it out of the lightly-raced filly that he originally did not plan to run in the Wakeful Stakes.
She was a bit tired after the race,” Sargent said.
“Obviously I backed her up after the Wakeful and I was questioning myself whether I should do it.
“I think that you saw with her win, in the Oaks, that it wasn’t as dominant because the Wakeful probably took the edge off her.
“If you look at it in the long run, when you run 2500, that is when you need a horse to grind it out and not be too fresh.
“In hindsight it was worth running in the Wakeful and that is a proven recipe I think.”
Sargent has been delighted with the start of Alamosa’s career at stud, with the nine-year-old named leading New Zealand first season sire, and he is hopeful that that the son of O’Reilly can follow in the footsteps on Zabeel.
The leading New Zealand trainer believes that the staying lines in New Zealand breeding are good enough to produce a number of staying champions and he believes this is the best chance Australasian has of stopping the dominance of imported European stayers.
“We still have the breeding of the staying lines in New Zealand and we have to have it because we can’t compete with your sprinters,” Sargent said.
“They are bringing some nice stayers here, like Reliable Man standing at Westbury and a few other stayers here, so let’s hope we can come back with another Zabeel and Alamosa is on the way to being that hopefully.
“Otherwise we will just be buying European horses and they will be winning all the races.”
