The impending upgrade of the Golden Rose to Group One status has not swayed trainer Gerald Ryan to aim Silver Slipper winner Melito at the $1 million race with the Princess Series foremost in his mind.The filly has been back at Ryan's Rosehill stable for some weeks and is well advanced in her preparation."She is in the Golden Rose like all the others but I would prefer to keep her against the fillies and run in the Princess Series," Ryan said."When she was at the spelling paddock they told me sh

The impending upgrade of the Golden Rose to Group One status has not swayed trainer Gerald Ryan to aim Silver Slipper winner Melito at the $1 million race with the Princess Series foremost in his mind.

The filly has been back at Ryan's Rosehill stable for some weeks and is well advanced in her preparation.

"She is in the Golden Rose like all the others but I would prefer to keep her against the fillies and run in the Princess Series," Ryan said.

"When she was at the spelling paddock they told me she had put on 50 kilos.

"I don't weigh my horses but she certainly looks a lot bigger, stronger and more mature but she is still a lovely quiet filly.

"She had a good spell and came back a bit earlier than some of the others.

"I have stepped up her training and she did her first pace work during the week and will be ready to trial at the end of the month."

Melito has had just four starts for a second to Horizons in the Widden Stakes on debut in February, victory in the Silver Slipper, second to More Joyous in the Reisling Stakes before being unplaced in the Golden Slipper won by Phelan Ready.

The Widden was run on a slow track and the Slipper on heavy, surfaces Melito seemed to dislike.

"She's not as comfortable on it, she runs well but not as well as she does on top of the ground," Ryan said.

Ryan was not tempted to press on to the Sires' Produce Stakes after the Golden Slipper with that race also run on wet ground.

The four-race Princess Series for three-year-old fillies begins with the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on August 22, a week before the Golden Rose (1400m).

The series culminates in the Group One Flight Stakes (1600m) on October 3, the same day as the Metropolitan (2400m) which is the aim of stablemate Ready To Lift.

The Brisbane Cup runner-up is enjoying a short break at Ryan's satellite stable at Murwillumbah and will be back in Sydney in a few weeks.

"I'd like to get her to the Melbourne Cup," Ryan said.

"The preferred option is the Metropolitan followed by the Moonee Valley Cup and then the Melbourne Cup.

"It would be too much to ask her to run in both the Metrop and the Caulfield Cup, they are too close together.

"The Moonee Valley Cup is ideal."

Ryan has always believed Ready To Lift would get better as she got over further and she has gone against the trend of most of the progeny of her sire More Than Ready who has produced the past two Golden Slipper winners.