Crown Oaks (2500m) placegetter Solicit is back in work with the Matthew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained three-year-old being aimed towards the Group 1 ATC Australian Oaks (2400m) in Sydney on April 19. After putting together two wins at the start of her campaign in September, the daughter of Street Cry then ran four successive Stakes placings culminating in her narrow Oaks defeat.
Back in pre-training at the beginning of last week, Zahra said Solicit was a promising stayer in the making and that he was already eyeing off the 2014 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m).
“She looked to us and though she was always going to be an autumn three-year-old,” Zahra said.
“It was a huge run (in the Oaks) and a lot was made of the blinkers being put on but they did run six seconds outside of the course record so they weren’t going as quick as what people thought either.
“She was on a learning curve and it all probably popped up a bit quick for her that preparation.
“She should furnish into a nice stayer and hopefully, touch wood she can be a nice Caulfield Cup horse in the Spring.”
The Ellerton/Zahra stable is in stellar form at the moment with the training partnership recording six wins in the past nine days, highlighted by the victory of promising sprinter Kaiser Sun at Flemington.
Zahra said the four-year-old would be set for another race at Flemington over 1000m on New Year’s Day and depending on his performance could be aimed towards the Listed Kensington Stakes (1000m) at the same track three weeks later.
Click here to watch Solicit’s run in the 2013 Crown Oaks