By BARRY STREET
How much more improvement could there be in Pherozity, who continued her winning way at Ellerslie on Saturday and is bound for Sydney?
The answer, according to Awapuni trainer Mike Breslin, is somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent.
Breslin claimed that Pherozity had to be eased because of a cold after she won a premier-quality 1400m at Trentham last month.
Therefore she only had three gallops leading up to Saturday's $25,000 Kings Arms Tavern Easter Trial, her first experience of open class and right handed racing.
"I'd say she was only between 80 and 90 per cent fit today," Breslin said, "but really I didn't want her much fitter than that.
"She needed room for improvement for two races she'll be having in Sydney next month."
Breslin said he chose the Easter Trial 1400m as an ideal lead-up for an Australian campaign because it was right handed, as in Sydney.
All Pherozity needed to do to land herself a transtasman trip on Saturday was to cope with Ellerslie's direction and go to the line strongly.
Winning at the expense of Straight Back and Clean Bowled and unplaced class gallopers Party Queen and O'Malleys Boy was a bonus.
Pherozity did two or three things wrong, colliding with Citi Habit soon after the start and bumping Party Queen when angling out for a run in the home straight.
She also star gazed a bit, said her first-time rider, Mark Du Plessis. But, once balanced, she produced any amount of power.
The best-available Sydney jockey will be Pherozity's next rider when she tackles the $A140,000 Queen of the Turf Stakes, a group two 1500m for fillies and mares, at Rosehill on April 7.
And the same choice could apply for the $A200,000 Emancipation Stakes, a group two 1600m for fillies and mares, at Randwick on April 28.
Beyond that Pherozity could be reunited with her regular lower North Island jockey, Hayden Tinsley, who has weight problems, in either Adelaide or Brisbane.
To date 1400m has been the Herocity mare's best distance. Five of her six wins from eight races have been at 1400m.
Even so, Breslin believes she is an ideal metric miler who would not have much difficulty, either, going 2000m.
The Doomben Cup, over 2020m, in Brisbane late in May is a race in mind for her because her owners, David and Ione Lees, of Lower Hutt, are now working in Brisbane.
The Lees made a special trip to Auckland for Saturday's race.
Other horses who could be at the Brisbane winter carnival include the much-improved Clean Bowled and the Bruce Marsh-trained Hail, Cheiron, Paddy Maloney and Citi Habit.
Two Takanini gallopers who could be heading soon to Sydney, even though unplaced on Saturday, are Likely Story and Starina.
Likely Story lacked racing room in the Gables Tavern 2100 to such an extent when finishing a close fourth that his connections protested about his being squeezed by the winner, Drama Queen. The protest was dismissed.
Starina, fresh from her third in the Wellington Cup in January, slightly disappointed her connections by finishing fifth in the Gables.
A decision on whether Starina should tackle the $A150,000 AJC St Leger, over 2600m, at Randwick on April 21 or shoot higher for the $A800,000 Sydney Cup, 3200m, on April 28 is expected later this week.
Racing: Still more improvement in Pherozity
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