Miss Rose De Lago ready for Orr challenge

Classy mare Miss Rose de Lago gets the chance to build on her already impressive record at Caulfield when she resumes in Saturday's $500,000 C.F. Orr Stakes.

The six-year-old hasn't raced since she finished at the tail of the field in the Toorak Handicap in October but has won four times from six starts at the Melbourne Racing Club's premier track.

Trainer Danny O'Brien said the daughter of Encosta de Lago appeared to be going just as well as when she resumed last preparation with an impressive victory in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes.

"She had a trial on the course proper here at Flemington a couple of weeks ago and went down to Geelong for a trial last Monday and she's forward enough to run very well," O'Brien said.

"She is carrying a bit of extra weight as an older mare and potentially that's where her racing weight will be because she's certainly done plenty of work.

"We're always confident that when she goes to Caulfield that she races at her best and obviously she'll need to do that on Saturday."

O'Brien said pending her performance on Saturday, Miss Rose de Lago could then progress to the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield a fortnight later before a possible trip to Sydney to tackle the Group 1 Coolmore Classic.

O'Brien will also be represented at Caulfield on Saturday by fellow six-year-olds De Little Engine and Second Bullet.

The Flemington-based horseman said the pair would resume in an 1800m handicap with the Mornington Cup (2400m) in March a possible target for them both.

"We'll just see how they progress as the distances increase, they're both very consistent racehorses that competed well over the spring and hopefully we can find a couple of softer targets for them in the autumn," he said.

Story by Luke Sheahan, to view Racing.com story click here

Pic by Racing Photos