Zloties faces tougher test at Bendigo
Image: Pat Scala
After wins in restricted grade, Zloties tackles better performed mares in the Bendigo Gold Bracelet
Trainer Grahame Begg has the task of trying to obtain a Stakes race victory with Zloties before she is whisked off to stud.
While the Bendigo Gold Bracelet (1400m) on Saturday does not hold any Black Type status, the race will be key to the mare’s chances of eventually stepping up to Stakes level.
A rising six-year-old and a veteran of only seven starts, Begg said Zloties was in the twilight of her racing career which has been thwarted by injury.
Begg had high hopes for Zloties after her debut at Geelong in February 2022, but stress fractures to a shoulder kept the mare from the racetrack for two-and-a-half years.
Zloties made an immediate impact when she returned to racing, scoring at Geelong and Sandown while in two runs this campaign the mare has been placed at Sandown before a last start win at that track on March 19.
That was at benchmark 70 level and on Saturday Zloties rises in grade to tackle mares under set weights and penalties conditions.
“We always liked her and that’s why we ran her as a two-year-old,” Begg said.
“We liked what she did, so we put her away, brought her back, but then she went sore, and she had a couple of bouts of soreness over a two-year period.
“She’s come back and has done a good job, but now we’ve got to work on her rating, and even if she wins on Saturday, her rating may not go up enough to get into those better races.”
Begg is eyeing the Group 2 Queen Of The South Stakes (1600m) at Morphettville on April 26, while there are options of the Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown (1300m) on May 3 and the Group 3 Dark Jewel Classic (1400m) at Scone on May 17.
“She’s in her second full preparation now and being a five-year-old mare, our job is to try and get her some ‘Black Type’ because she’ll probably be going off to stud,” Begg said.
“She’s a well-bred mare, so we’ll see what sort of plan we can conjure up.
“There’s the Queen Of The South Stakes in Adelaide, there’s a nice race in Sydney, the Hawkesbury Crown, and then a couple of weeks after that there’s the Dark Jewel Classic at Scone.
“There are options for her, it’s just finding the right one.”
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