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Kiwi Mares Heading To Melbourne

The Graeme and Mark Sanders stablemates Innocent Lady and Smoulder will join the New Zealand assault on the Melbourne spring carnival.

Raced by prominent Queensland owner and breeder Dick Karreman, the Sanders-trained pair are set to have their next starts in Melbourne Group races.

Karreman's racing manager Rick Williams said the stable is hoping to get Innocent Lady into the $6 million Melbourne Cup on November1.

She will attempt to qualify through the G3 JRA Cup (2000m) at Moonee Valley on September 30 and the G2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) on October 22.

"The Moonee Valley Cup is the race we'll try and use to qualify her for the Melbourne Cup,' Williams said.

Innocent Lady, the winner of five of her 19 starts, was second in the Avondale Cup last season and has raced twice since resuming for a first-up win over 1400m at Te Rapa and a fifth over 1600m at Hastings.

Smoulder, winner of four of her 14 starts, will target the G2 Blazer Stakes at Flemington on October 2 as her lead up to the G1 Myer Classic at Flemington on October 29.

The four-year-old was among New Zealand's best fillies last season when she won the G2 Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie and was placed in the G1 1000 Guineas won by King's Rose at Riccarton and also the G1 Te Aroha Breeders Stakes won by Barinka.

She also has raced twice since resuming for a first-up third in the G3 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Hastings and a second over 1400m at Hastings.

Meanwhile the unbeaten Baldovino will step up to Group One company in Saturday's $200,000 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings at only his fourth start after three impressive wins.

Baldovino is a stablemate of Scarlett Lady, who also is entered for the race but is expected to race in Melbourne on Saturday in the G1 Underwood Stakes.

Scarlett Lady is booked to fly to Melbourne on Wednesday despite an earlier report that she may be staying in NZ for Saturday's race.

Trainer Graeme Rogerson has a huge opinion of Baldovino and is not dismissing a crack at the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley next month with the four-year-old.

"We're up against Jimmy Choux, Mufhasa and Wall Street but he'll run well. He's a pretty good horse,” Rogerson said of his chances at Hastings.

"If he wins on Saturday we'll be looking at the Cox Plate for sure.”


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