Sharrock said Butler had pulled up well after his tough unplaced run at Awapuni last Saturday, while Justaskme has returned in great order following a freshen-up after his back-to-back stakes victories.
“He [Butler] has come through it well. He saw a lot of the track. I am going to strip it all back and ride him cold and probably head to the Opunake Cup along with Justaskme. He will come in with a good weight with Justaskme at the top of the handicaps. He has got to get 1400m, but if we start working him that way and racing him that way, we are a chance.”
He said Justaskme had his first day back on Monday after a week off.
“He has done super and I am really happy with him.”
On Sharrock’s return from overseas, he will welcome back a handful of his stable’s leading lights for the spring, including Gr.1 hopefuls Darci La Bella and Ladies Man.
The pair are in pre-training with Whanganui horsewoman Jo Rathbone, and Sharrock said they appreciated the change of environment.
“Darci La Bella has had one or two gallops. She is with Jo Rathbone at the moment and I’ll pick her up when I get home. I will be back by the end of June. Jo does quite a few of mine and does a really good job. It is a little bit different work and it is good to vary it up a little bit ... She has got treadmills and she works them through the bush. It is work that they don’t do in a normal infrastructure. It is good for them. She has got Ladies Man, Southroad, and a couple of young ones. She is doing plenty for us.”
Darci La Bella continued her exceptional form last year, winning her last four starts, including the Gr.3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), and Gr.2 Manawatū Challenge Stakes (1400m).
Sharrock said he was pleasantly surprised by her continued success last preparation and believes she has earned the chance to test herself at elite level.
“She lifted the bar and got to a level I thought might have been above her, but she won really well, so the next step is Gr.1. She will probably go to the Foxbridge (Gr.2, 1200m) first up and straight into the Gr.1 (Tarzino Trophy, 1400m) at Hastings. With her improvement at the end of last year, she is going to be competitive in those.”
Meanwhile, Sharrock is looking to overseas targets with promising stayer Ladies Man, where he hopes the rising six-year-old can join his half-sister Ladies First as a Gr.1-winning two-miler.
“The long-term plan with him is the Melbourne Cup (Gr.1, 3200m), but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet. All going to plan, Ladies Man could be joined on his Australian raid by a handful of stablemates. It depends on how he comes up and what races are viable for which part of the team.”
He said they had some nice horses and a horse like Tavattack could go over for lesser races like the Seymour Cup (listed, 1600m).
“We will see how it plays out.”
– SENZ Racing
