Last-start runner-up in the Listed Christmas Stakes (1100m), Mrs Chrissie, is likely to bypass this Saturday’s Group 3 Standish Handicap (1200m), with trainer Ciaron Maher opting to target either the Listed Adams Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield or the Listed Durbridge Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville, both scheduled for January 25.
“Knowing her, 1000 and 1100 (metres) are her best trips, and if we can space her runs, which we like doing, we do,” said Maher’s assistant, Jack Turnbull.
“There’s a race in Adelaide on the same day and one at Caulfield; she’ll be in one of the two.
“She’s stakes-quality, obviously, but if we can just get that win it will be good.
“We’ve got her, we’ve got a sibling, the owner’s still got the mare, so it adds a lot more to the picture.”
Looking ahead, Turnbull mentioned that a potential tilt at the Group 1 Sangster Stakes (1200m) is on the radar, though the stable remains grounded in their immediate goals.
“Pie-in-the-sky, you would say a grand final could be a Sangster – you might have a crack at six furlongs in mares’ company – but we are very realistic, and the ownership group is much the same.
“If we could win a Listed or Group 3 in mares’ grade, that’s number one (goal), and then we could potentially look at a Sangster.”
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