Fidelia to be aimed at Group 1 race in spring
The well-performed Fidelia will be aimed towards Group One success in the spring.
After rising to prominence with four-straight city wins during her most recent preparation, Fidelia is being set for a spring campaign aimed at Group One glory.
The Robbie Griffiths-trained Fidelia was given a four-week spell after capping her late autumn preparation in Melbourne with victory in an open handicap for three-year-olds over 1600m at Flemington on May 25.
That impressive win came a week after the filly won over the same course and distance, having already notched impressive wins at Sandown and Flemington in her previous two starts.
The winner of five of her nine starts, Fidelia has been back in work for a couple of weeks and Griffiths has mapped out a four-run spring preparation culminating in the Group One Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) for fillies and mares at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
The Group Three Cockram Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on August 31 is her planned first-up assignment.
“The reason we backed her up quickly to get that last win was so that it gave her extra time in the paddock,” Griffiths said.
“She had four full weeks out after that and she spelled incredibly well.
“It looked like she had been out for eight-to-ten weeks. She put on a lot of weight.
“She has been back in for two weeks and she looks great.
“She’s going to be ready to race on August 31.”
After the Cockram Stakes, Griffiths plans to run Fidelia in the Let’s Elope Stakes and the Blazer Stakes, both Group Two 1400m-races for mares at Flemington, before the Empire Rose Stakes.
Griffiths believes Fidelia has the “skill set” and “sectional speed” to take herself to a higher level in the spring.
“She’s a real candidate to mature into a possibility of a Group One performer in the spring,” he said.
“She’s got to prove herself, naturally, at that level but she’s lightly raced.
“She’s got a great win rate. She’s got a pedigree to take her there. She’s got the sectional splits to suggest that she can mature into a genuine Empire Rose Stakes candidate.
“Hopefully it works out as well as it rolls off the tongue. But that’s what we’re hoping for.”