Molly Bloom was dazzling under a perfect Joe Doyle steer in the $175,000 Ellis Classic at Te Rapa on Saturday, and in any normal season, could be clear top pick as our best filly.
But with Orchestral having just won the $1.5 million Karaka Millions Three-Year-Old and now favourite for the New Zealand Derby, she could end the season with top billing instead.
“Molly has nothing left to prove here and the big aim for her now is Australian Group 1 black type, whether that is this season or next,” says O’Sullivan.
While Molly Bloom will miss the New Zealand Oaks on March 16, O’Sullivan and training partner Andrew Scott won’t make a decision on whether to continue down that path with Grail Seeker, who finished sixth behind Molly Bloom, until later this week.
“We are going to let the dust settle and make decisions with her and even horses like Waitak and Dragon Leap.”
The latter pair were both unplaced, without a great deal of luck, in the BCD Sprint on Saturday and are running out of Group 1 domestic targets this season.
While Molly Bloom is now out of Derby and Oaks contention, a decision is still to be made on one-time Oaks favourite Mary Shan.
“I’ll talk it over with the owners and see if they want to go one more race down that path, like the Lowlands Stakes or Sunline Vase,” says trainer Andrew Forsman.
About Time is another filly who was prominent in futures markets who also won’t be heading to the Oaks, with trainer Lance Noble saying she will have a break.
That news means five of the top eight fillies in the market for the Oaks are unlikely starters.
One of the beaten stars of Saturday’s meeting in Crocetti is another whose plans will be clearer in coming days.
He was the bravest of seconds to Bonny Lass in the BCD Sprint and co-trainer Danny Walker says he and owner Daniel Nahkle could decide by tomorrow whether he will race again or spell.
Other market movers after a hectic weekend included Saturday winner Mark Twain moving to the head of the Auckland Cup market at $7. With some of the best fillies starting to look tired or unlikely to stay, Orchestral is into $3 favouritism for the Trackside Derby on March 2.
She races next in the Avondale Guineas on Saturday, with Craig Grylls back in the saddle, as he is likely to be for the Derby.
Opie Bosson will miss this Saturday’s Ellerslie meeting, as he heads to Melbourne to partner Imperatriz in her comeback race.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
