3 minute read
Connections of Chinchilla Rose are yet to decide whether to head to Sydney and miss the Listed Vo Rogue Plate at Doomben on Saturday.
Connections of Chinchilla Rose will decide on Friday whether to head to Sydney and miss the Listed Vo Rogue Plate at Doomben on Saturday following the declaration of an equine influenza green zone in south-east Queensland.
Trainer Steele Ryan left open the option of sending Chinchilla Rose south for the Group Two Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday week after the Queensland Department of Primary Industries declared a green zone for the south-east corner of the state from Friday.
"I'll be happy either way but now we've gone to a green zone I've left the decision about going to Sydney with her owners," Ryan said.
However, if Chinchilla Rose does miss the Vo Rogue Plate (1350m) she'll still need to be inoculated before she can travel.
"It's very complicated but because she was in Melbourne in the spring and didn't get EI (equine influenza) she still needs to have a booster needle before she can go away," Ryan said.
"The weird thing is she wouldn't need another inoculation if she had got the horse flu and we could be in Sydney with her now.
"If we send her to Sydney then she'll probably have her needle tomorrow and it would be too risky running her at Doomben.
"To travel she needs to have a booster within 120 days of her last shot and her last needle was 130 days ago."
Ryan is keen to step Chinchilla Rose up in distance for the major three-year-old races during the Brisbane winter carnival.
"I know she can run 1600 metres but we've always thought she could get further," Ryan said.
"My biggest regret with her was not training her when she went to Melbourne.
"I think I would have a good idea by now whether she could run 2000 metres but there's a few options we've got with her in Brisbane to find out.
"I'll see how she goes on Saturday, if she runs, but there's a 1400-metre race for three-year-old fillies coming up before the Princess Stakes over 1600 metres at Eagle Farm next month if she stays here."
Ryan has not declared his winter path with Chinchilla Rose but the Group Three Doomben Roses (2020m) on May 17 will be pivotal as to whether she progresses to the Group One Queensland Oaks (2400m) at Eagle Farm a fortnight later.
Chinchilla Rose resumed from her spring break with a courageous second to the highly-rated Borsha's Mark over 1200 metres at Eagle Farm on March 1.
It was her first start since finishing seventh to Weekend Hussler in the Group One Ascot Vale Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on November 3.
The three-year-old was transferred to trainer Danny O'Brien for her Melbourne engagements after Ryan was disqualified for six months last April for improper conduct following an altercation with a stablehand at the Gold Coast races.
"She's a lot tougher now than when I last had her. The trip to Melbourne has matured her a lot," Ryan said.
"If we run her this Saturday she'll be right up to the mark and she's pulled up well since her first-up run."
