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Winter Bride targets Trentham Group One; The Chosen One pleases at Matamata

Winter Bride targets Trentham Group One

Australian raider Winter Bride  was the bridesmaid to Julius in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie on New Year's Day and trainers Toby and Trent Edmonds are hoping she can go one better at Trentham on Saturday.

The daughter of Not A Single Doubt will jump from barrier four in the Gr.1 JR & N Berkett Telegraph and her trainers are pleased with her heading into the race.

"She has drawn well this week, which is great," Toby Edmonds said. "I am quite keen to get her down there and see how we go.

"It was nine weeks between runs (when runner-up in the Railway) and to do that off a soft trial I thought it was a credit to her."

Edmonds is hoping for a bit of improvement in the track come Saturday, with Trentham rated a Dead5 on Wednesday morning.

"She likes the juice out of the track a little bit, so if that happened down at Wellington that would be better, but she is in really good order," he said.

"She has had a good couple of weeks in-between runs and galloped beautifully at Pukekohe on Tuesday. She is on her way down to Wellington today (Wednesday)."

The Chosen One pleases at Matamata

The Chosen One pleased trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman with his 1200m trial at Matamata on Tuesday ahead of his autumn campaign.

"He did everything we expected of him," Forsman said. "We didn't ask him for too much.

"In a perfect world he is a couple of gallops and a week away from a trial, but this is just the way the schedule panned out for him.

"It is good to give him a day out and a hit-out on what is a pretty forgiving track (Dead6)."

The son of Savabeel is set to cross the Tasman once again this year after his successful spring campaign in Melbourne, which included victory in the Gr.2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m).

While The Chosen One recorded a Group Two victory over spring, Forsman believes he will be better suited to Sydney in the autumn, the scene of his Gr.3 Packer Plate (2000m) victory and fourth-placing in the Gr.1 ATC Derby (2400m).

"It's hard on those flat, fast tracks in Melbourne and I think if we get him to Sydney in the form he was in last autumn he will be very competitive," Forsman said.

"We have nothing mapped out at this stage. We just have to get him fit, do the leg work here and then in the next month or so we will start to sit down and map out a path for him.

"Getting to the end of March and April, that's when the serious races come around and as long as we have him at concert pitch by then we will be happy."

Forsman alluded The Chosen One may have another trial before he returns to the races.

"It's a possibility that he will trial again before he races," he said. "There is a decent gap in the trial schedule now, so he might not need one, he might just have a trip away and an exhibition gallop to tune him up."