A Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign is looking unlikely for Group 1 winning Kiwi filly La Bella Diosa.
La Bella Diosa, above, is an unlikely visitor to the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival. Photo by Steve Hart.
Rangiora co-trainers Mandy and Matt Brown are planning to give La Bella Diosa a light Spring preparation in New Zealand and will target the Riccarton Park Carnival at Canterbury in November.
“She’s been back for three weeks and she’s ticking over nicely,” Matt Brown told New Zealand Racing News.
“We’re not making any great plans and she’ll probably have a quiet year and we’ll see how she comes up with maybe a couple of starts at the Riccarton Carnival.”
The Group 2 NZ$230,000 13th Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) or the Group 3 NZ $80,000 Valachi Downs Canterbury Breeders Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton Park on November 15 could be suitable races for the rising four year old mare.
La Bella Diosa proved to be one of the most talented fillies racing in New Zealand during the 2016 Spring when she claimed a win in the Group 1 NZ$300,000 NZ 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton Park which prompted the Browns to try their luck in Sydney during the 2017 Autumn Carnival.
The So You Think filly gave the Browns an instant return for their effort with a win in the Group 2 $200,000 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on February 25 but her form quickly fell away and she was out of the money at her next three starts.
La Bella Diosa failed to beat a runner home when nineteenth to Heavens Above in the Group 1 $600,000 Coolmore Classic (1500m) followed by a ninth in the Group 1 $500,000 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) both at Rosehill before being tailed off when thirteenth to Bonneval in the Group 1 $1m Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick.
“We know she doesn’t like wet tracks, but she handled the first one because it was loose,” Brown said.
“We probably should have pulled the pin a bit earlier. She went horribly in the Oaks and struggled to get the 2400 metres.
“She was pretty tired after that and she had a good break. She had two months in the paddock and she looks a lot stronger, she’s pretty happy in herself.”
La Bella Diosa is the winner of five of her ten race starts and has earned NZ$380,172 ion prizemoney.
