Star mare Verry Elleegant has pulled up well from her big spring campaign, and looks likely to head overseas and contest the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) in France next year.
Co-owner Brae Sokolski has confirmed that connections are keen to see Verry Elleegant on the world stage, and that she still has improvement to come.
“We’ve always thought that she is going to be at her best as a six-year-old and she’s a proven world-class mare who loves wet ground and deserves to be tried on the world stage,” Sokolski said on Tuesday.
“She’ll be at the peak of her powers at her favourite trip and we’d love to see what she could do.”
Verry Elleegant had an outstanding spring campaign, taking out the Winx Stakes (1400m) first up, and then winning both the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) and Caulfield Cup (2400m), before finishing seventh in the Melbourne Cup (3200m).
What a MARE!
Verry Elleegant is the Caulfield Cup hero for 2020! pic.twitter.com/Rl8Z6lzJtC
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 17, 2020
“That was her one and only chance at it [the Melbourne Cup] and we thought she ran very well after getting too far back,” he said. “She lost sight of the leader and just couldn’t win from where she was, but she really finished off bravely.”
It seems likely that Verry Elleegant will have a full autumn preparation in Australia, possibly following a Winx-style campaign with runs in the Apollo Stakes, Chipping Norton Stakes, and the Ranvet Stakes, before targeting the Winx Stakes or the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
From there, she would fly over to Europe early to acclimatize and prepare to take on the world stage.
“She’s not Winx, but there’s no doubt she’s the best mile-and-a-half horse in the country,” Sokolski said.
