By Brad Gray
At Royal Randwick
Sasso Corbaro has furnished into a lovely, strong filly and that physical development has been evident on the track where the three-year-old has scored two dominant wins this campaign, the latest at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
“She went to another level today and in better company so it was very pleasing to see,” said trainer Kris Lees. “She has been a filly that has always shown us a bit. She had a nice winter and has certainly come back bigger and stronger this preparation.”
Sasso Corbaro was too sharp for her rivals
Lees’ only concern before the race was the tactical affair that was likely to ensue with just five runners engaged and Sasso Corbaro having drawn the outside but a clever Blake Shinn ride quickly quashed those fears.
“She took runs on inside of horses approaching the corner. Blake rode her very well saving plenty of ground and then she lengthened nicely when he asked her for an effort,” said Lees.
“I wouldn’t say she made two runs but he had to make a bit of effort to get inside of horses, then relax and go again. She is showing a really good turn of foot when it matters.”
Sasso Corbaro after scoring a dominant @royalrandwick win.
Filly still on the up! pic.twitter.com/GwRN9m6tcu
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) December 30, 2017
Eagle-eyed watchers of the filly’s barrier trials before she kicked off her preparation wouldn’t have been overly impressed, and the Newcastle-based trainer shared that apprehension.
“After her first two trials I was really concerned. She wasn’t going anywhere. We started mucking around with gear which was probably the wrong thing to do so we took everything off her and she jumped out of the ground. It may have taken her a little while to get fit too,” Lees said.
Lees confirmed that the daughter of All Too Hard will now head to the Gold Coast to tackle the 3YO Magic Millions Guineas (1400m).
Check out all the results and replays for Saturday's Royal Randwick meeting.