Trainer Michael Freedman is satisfied with his decision to delay the spring return of Golden Slipper winner Marhoona, who is set to resume in the Heritage Stakes at Rosehill.
Originally entered for The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick last weekend, Marhoona was withdrawn as Freedman opted to avoid a clash with Joliestar, who won the race in style. After weighing up conditions and the barrier draw, he felt this week’s Listed event was the superior choice.
“When I had a look at the set-up of the race and the weight she was going to carry, she was only getting a kilo off Joliestar and the barrier was a little bit of a concern too,” Freedman said.
“We thought, we’ll just go against her own age group and hopefully on to the Roman Consul (Stakes) after that.
“I’m really happy with her. She worked great here last Tuesday (week) and it was really just deciding to wait and go to (this) week.”
Marhoona enjoyed a meteoric rise during her first campaign earlier this year, progressing from a narrow debut win at Canterbury in February to finishing second in the Reisling Stakes (1200m), before sealing her reputation with victory in the prestigious Golden Slipper (1200m).
She heads a promising three-year-old group for Freedman, which also features Tea Rose Stakes winner Apocalyptic and the lightly raced Magenta Skies, who broke her maiden impressively at the Newcastle Cup meeting and now heads toward stakes level.
Meanwhile, consistent mare Manaal will represent Freedman’s older brigade when she tackles the Group 2 Golden Pendant (1400m) at Rosehill. The mare found winning form last start in the Sheraco Stakes (1200m) and has options for a lucrative spring campaign.
Freedman has not ruled out stretching Manaal’s program to include the Golden Eagle (1500m), depending on how she continues to progress.
“There are lots of good options for four-year-old mares here in the spring,” Freedman said.
“There’s The Invitation and being a four-year-old the Golden Eagle wouldn’t be out of the equation being 1500 (metres).”
In the barrier draw, Marhoona will start from gate four in the Heritage Stakes, while Manaal has drawn the same marble in the Golden Pendant.
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