Trainer Danny O’Brien has mapped out a high-achieving spring campaign for Sass Appeal, with a trio of Group 1 targets in his sights as the talented mare makes her return at Flemington on Saturday.
The daughter of So You Think will commence her preparation in the VRC Membership Renewals Open (1410m) following a standout three-year-old season that finished with a victory in the Kewney Stakes.
Sass Appeal has raced on only five occasions, finishing second on debut at Sandown before recording four successive wins, including her Group 2 triumph at Flemington in March.
O’Brien made the decision to conclude her autumn campaign immediately after that win, believing a timely spell would ensure she was perfectly primed for the spring.
The stable has already identified the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, the Toorak Handicap, and the Empire Rose Stakes as her key spring objectives.
“She went to the paddock early in the autumn after the first Saturday in March as she had raced through the summer, so we weren’t keen to do too much more with her,” O’Brien said.
“The benefit of going out early was we were able to have her ready for the early part of the spring as we are hoping to get her to a Sir Rupert Clarke or a Toorak Handicap.
“She needs to win a race or two between now and those races to get her rating up to that sort of level and this looks a good starting point on Saturday.”
While Sass Appeal was also entered for the Aurie’s Star Handicap, O’Brien felt the 1410m race was a more suitable option.
The mare also benefits at the weights, carrying 53kg compared to what she would have been allocated in the Group 3 sprint.
“She already has a good record at the 1400 (metres),” O’Brien stated.
“She’s won twice at the course and distance, so we thought we would stick with what she does best and is already proven at. It’s a lower rating race than what the Aurie’s Star is, a Group 3, and she is a lot better handicapped in this.”
O’Brien intends to give Sass Appeal one more preparatory run in a Benchmark 100 over 1400m at Caulfield on August 29 before stepping her up into elite company.
“There’s only time to have two runs before potentially running in the Sir Rupert Clarke,” O’Brien explained.
“She can run this weekend and then go four weeks to Memsie Stakes Day to a similar race there, another 1400-metre at Caulfield and then it’s a three-week gap to the Sir Rupert Clarke. After that it’s potentially the Toorak Handicap into the Empire Rose.”
Despite the substantial prizemoney and the recent elevation of The Golden Eagle to Group 1 status, O’Brien’s preference is to keep Sass Appeal competing in Melbourne throughout the spring.
Explore the racing betting markets for the Flemington races.