Matthew Smith has a long-range plan mapped out for Aethelflaed, with her run at Caulfield on Saturday forming part of a path towards a Brisbane winter campaign and a possible Melbourne spring tilt.
She lines up in the MRC Chairman’s Club Handicap (2000m) as a stepping stone towards a 2400m race in Queensland, en route to the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm on June 14.
Smith is also eyeing a return to Melbourne in spring, with aspirations to target the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup.
Last spring Aethelflaed was shaping up as a Cups contender before a tendon injury struck following her second-place finish to Zardozi in the Group 1 Victoria Oaks (2500m).
“I’ve now got to try and get her into this year’s Cups seeing what Zardozi did last year,” Smith said.
“I’m excited to see what she might do over two miles. I think she’s a genuine two-miler.
“She needs some racing to get her rating up to 100, and you never know what might happen.”
After a long recovery, Aethelflaed resumed with a win in a Class 1 event over 2000m at Canberra on April 18, an effort Smith viewed positively given her extended preparation.
“It was a good effort, but she was in work for a while to be fair and she had a good base on her,” Smith said.
“We wanted to go somewhere to try and get a win and thankfully she was eligible for a Class 1 and it got a run into her.
“She’ll run a race on Saturday, but I expect them to be too sharp for her, but then she’ll go 2400 metres and then she’ll step up to 3200 metres into the Brisbane Cup as well.”
Smith is also preparing True Marvel for the Brisbane Cup, following his fifth-place finish to Smokin’ Romans in the Warrnambool Cup (2350m).
True Marvel will next contest the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) at Flemington on May 17, which offers a ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup (3200m).