Norm Gardner is using this Saturday’s Rosebud as a stepping stone for Miss Ostend to launch towards a berth in the Magic Millions in January.
Miss Ostend showed plenty of ability through her first racing campaign, narrowly missing placings in the Listed Magic Millions two-year-old at Wyong, the Listed Lonhro Plate and the Group Three Black Opal Stakes.
The daughter of Zoustar returned from a spell with a dominant win at Moruya, beating home the QTIS Jewel placed King Gutho by two lengths.
Gardner said the aim is to get the exciting filly to the Gold Coast.
“Our main ambition is those Magic Millions races at the end of the year,” he said.
“We’ve just got to try and get her prizemoney up for that.
“She’s going really well, I’m very pleased with her. It’s been a month now since she’s ran but I’m very pleased with her.
“She’s always been a pretty switched-on little filly, she’s always been easy to do anything with.”
Miss Ostend boasts the most race experience of the Rosebud field and has run some eye-catching races despite only having two wins to her name.
The daughter of Zoustar will jump from barrier eight with Jay Ford in the saddle.
The awkward draw shouldn’t hurt the chances of the three-year-old, with the Canberra horseman saying she’s got no definite racing style.
“She’s got no actual pattern of racing,” he said.
“Her last prep, when she had three weeks between runs, I ran her in the Lonhro Plate and she ran very well but she shared the lead.
“She can sit outside the leader, she can get back, it doesn’t really matter.
“In the Magic Millions at Wyong, she drew wide, she got back to second last and flashed home.”
Gardner’s last stakes performer was Coliseo, who won the Listed Wagga Cup in 2012 and featured in the Group One Sydney Cup in 2013.
Coliseo was a winner of six races ranging from 1300m to 2000m, pocketing $290,000 in prizemoney.
Gardner says Miss Ostend is as good as Coliseo was at this point in their careers.
“She’s an easier horse to train than him, she’s got less problems than him,” he said.
“At this stage she’d probably be as good a horse as him.”
Miss Ostend is a $71 chance for the Rosebud on Saturday with the tab.com.au.
