Talented mare More Than Sacred has joined the stable of leading Victorian trainer Robert Smerdon and could be set for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.
More Than Sacred was beaten by Royal Descent in the 2013 edition of the Australian Oaks. Photo by: Steve Hart
More Than Sacred was purchased by Japanese breeder Katsumi Yoshida at the end of her autumn preparation and the daughter of More Than Ready has been booked in to visit Japanese super stallion Deep Impact at the end of the year, but will remain in work for a spring campaign; with both the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 18 and the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 4 on the agenda for the Group 1 winning mare.
“With the timing, the opportunity is there to have a spring preparation so we’ll see how she comes up,” Smerdon told AAP.
“If she comes up well enough, she’ll be heading towards the Cups.”
More Than Sacred made her racing debut under the care of Tony Pike and Mark Donoghue in September of 2012 and she had four race starts before breaking her maiden with a win at Te Rapa in January last year.
She made her debut at Group level with a third place finish behind Fix in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 9 before taking out both the Group 3 Sunline Vase (2100m) at Ellerslie on March 6 and the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 16.
More Than Sacred made her Australian racing debut in the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) at Royal Randwick on April 20, but she failed to handle the heavy surface and beat home just a single runner.
The mare made a slow start to her four-year-old season, but she returned to winning form at Pukekohe in November last year and scored another win at Group level; om the Waikato Times Gold Cup (2400m) at Te Rapa on December 14.
More Than Sacred had no luck when she missed the placings in both the Group 2 Wellington Cup (2400m) at Trentham on January 25 and the Group 2 Avondale Gold Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie on February 15 before she returned to a semblance of her best form in the Group 1 Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 5.
Deep Impact is one of the leading stallions in Japan and has already served the likes of Australian Group 1 winning mares Mosheen, King’s Rose, Absolutely, Shamrocker and Southern Speed.
