Young speed merchant Love The Sort will be on trial on Saturday for a return visit to Ruakaka for an early black-type opportunity.
She will make her three-year-old debut in the Ben & Nola Wortelboer Memorial (1100m) for trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray, with an eye on a sterner challenge.
“I don’t think she’ll stay, I think she’s too fast and that being the case another race that looks on the agenda, providing she performs well, is the Northland Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.3, 1200m) in two weeks,” Ritchie said.
“She’ll go back up for that if she proves she’s worthy of a spot by either winning on Saturday or going very, very close.”
Love The Sort made the perfect start to her career on her home all-weather track in mid-June when she proved too swift over 970m for her older opposition.
“She’s very, very fast and going into that race on the poly without a trial it was a comfortable place for her to go, but she didn’t jump that quickly,” Ritchie said.
“She mustered very well to get over to the fence with a light weight and always had the race under control.”
While naturally chasing another winning result, Ritchie said it may have to be achieved in a different manner.
“This will be a different kettle of fish, she’s drawn six out of seven and I know that doesn’t sound so bad, but there’s a ton of speed in it so she just might not get her own way.
“If that’s the case, it might be an opportunity to educate her, but we’ll leave that decision until we see how she jumps.
“It will be interesting, and the other thing is that she hasn’t been right-handed before.
“We’ve galloped her that way a few times and she needs that experience with a lot of the nicer three-year-old fillies’ races over the short trips coming up are at Ellerslie.”
Love The Sort is a daughter of Tassort and the Written Tycoon mare Siyaadeh and the speedy family of Gr.1 Galaxy Handicap (1200m) winner Snowland.
She was purchased out of breeder Emirates Park’s draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Ritchie for A$42,500.
“When we take our horses to Queensland during the winter we use the Gold Coast Turf Club and you’ve basically got to walk past the sale yard from the apartment we stay in to get to the racecourse,” he said.
“You see quite a few yearlings coming on and off the floats and walking around, racing’s a social game and the stud boys are there and a few breeders you train for and often a few owners come over as well.
“We tend to go out and have a bit of lunch with them all at the sale yard, it’s not a normal thing for us to buy off Magic Millions, but I saw this filly and loved her.
“I thought she would bring a fair bit more and was in our bracket. I didn’t go there specifically to buy a horse, having said that, occasionally you see a little gem that you like and she was within range.”
