Stephen Marsh is eyeing a light winter campaign with his Group One-winning sprinter Mercurial (NZ) (Burgundy), who shook off some cobwebs with a trial win at Cambridge on Friday.
The winner of six of his 36 starts, including last year’s Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham, Mercurial has been off the scene since he was unplaced in the Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa on February 8.
The six-year-old Burgundy gelding pleased his trainer with a narrow but comfortable short-neck victory in Friday’s 950m heat on his home track.
“I thought he trialled up very nicely without being put under much pressure,” Marsh said. “He hasn’t done much so far this time in and is still carrying plenty of condition, so there’s a lot of improvement in him.
“He’ll trial again on the grass at Waipa later this month, and then he should be ready to go back to the races.
“We’ll probably give him a fairly low-key winter, then head into the spring with that bit of race fitness under his belt.”
Mercurial has gone winless in seven starts this season, but he has been up against elite sprint company. He finished fourth to Luberon (NZ) (Embellish) in the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m), fifth behind Babylon Berlin in the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m), second to Kelly Coe (NZ) (Proisir) in the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint (1400m), seventh in Grail Seeker’s Telegraph, and 10th but less than four lengths from Crocetti (NZ) (Zacinto) and Alabama Lass in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m).
His unplaced last-start run in the BCD Group Sprint has turned out to be an exceptional form race. The winner Here To Shock (NZ) (Shocking) was runner-up in the Gr.1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) in Sydney in his next start, runner-up Bosustow resumed with a six-length win in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m), and the third-placed Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) used that race as a springboard to a second placing in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m).
“Mercurial has been running in absolutely super company all season, like the Telegraph and the Railway and the BCD Sprint,” Marsh said. “He’s been up against the best sprinters and hasn’t been disgracing himself at all.
“We might start to lower our sights with him a little bit, now that he’s heading towards what could be his final season. He’s been a great horse for a big group of fantastic owners. He’s taken us to all the big racedays and given us some amazing thrills.
“He’s an easy horse to ride, so we might be able to use a claim in some open handicaps in this campaign and be very competitive in those.”