Light preparation for Group One winner

The connections of La Diosa are determined to keep the valuable mare to a light schedule this season.

“We’ve always said that we were never going to over-race her as a four-year-old, she’s got nothing to prove,” said Mandy Brown, who trains the Group One winner with her husband Matt.

“We’ll take her through an easy season and then see how she comes up as a five-year-old.”

Last term, La Diosa won the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) after Listed successes in the Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) and the Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m).

She subsequently headed to Sydney where she added the Gr.2 Surround Stakes (1400m) to her record.

La Diosa has only been out three times since her return from Sydney and was spelled after her last-start sixth in the Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) in the spring.

“She performed creditably and we were happy enough with her run,” Brown said. “She came through the race well, but we elected to give her some time off.

“She’s back in work now and doing well. She’ll trial at Ashburton on February 20, but we’ve yet to set any plan after that.”

Meanwhile, promising stablemate Greenpark Gem will be back in action at Riccarton on Saturday week.

Fourth in the Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) two runs back, the daughter of Highly Recommended was then an unlucky third at Timaru late last month.

“It was a huge run under the circumstances,” Brown said. “She got squeezed early and over-reacted a bit and then got to the line strongly.”