Anthony Cummings’ leading Golden Rose contender Your Song returns to the stable this week but the trainer is also looking to a few others to line up in the season’s first Group One race.
Last-start winner Soapbox and She’s a Fox will be entered in fillies division of the Rosebud qualifiers on Saturday while Hard Marker and the unraced Call Me Ishmael could step out in the colts and geldings heat.
The Rosebud qualifiers at Warwick Farm are the final juvenile races of the Sydney season and are lead-ups to the Listed Rosebud at Warwick Farm on August 11.
Cummings will use other races to get Your Song and the well credentialled Ninth Legion to the $1 million Golden Rose (1400m) for three-year-olds on September 15.
“I’ll decide after trackwork on Tuesday which ones run on Saturday,” Cummings said.
“There are plenty of races leading up to the Golden Rose.
“I think Saturday’s race is the right race for Soapbox.
“I’ll try to get as many as I can to the Golden Rose.”
Unbeaten triple crown winner Pierro heads the Golden Rose market at $3 with Black Caviar’s little brother All Too Hard at $4.20 and Blue Diamond Stakes winner Samaready $6.
Your Song has won the latest two of his three starts, the most recent on July 7 after which he was given a couple of weeks on the water walker at Wild Oaks Farm south of Sydney.
“Your Song will be back on Monday or Tuesday and we will look at where to place him,” Cummings said.
“He could run in the San Domenico or the Up ANd Coming. There are any number of options coming up for the three-year-olds.”
Ninth Legion has won two of his three starts and was a creditable fifth behind Sizzling in last month’s Group One TJ Smith at the Brisbane winter carnival.
Cummings won the Golden Rose in 2008 with Duporth, the year before the former Peter Pan Stakes was granted Group One status.
In 2011, the Cummings-trained Smart Missile started favourite and charged home to finish a close second to Manawanui after suffering interference early in the race.
Like Smart Missile, Your Song is a colt by Fastnet Rock and is raced by Eduardo Cojuangco’s Goree Stud.
