Zarita lead-in plan

– Marc McGowan
DUAL Group 1 winner Zarita may be a surprise Cranbourne Cup starter.
Clyde trainer Pat Hyland revealed last week that his five-year-old mare could use the local cup as a lead-in race ahead of a possible tilt at next month’s Caulfield Cup.
Hyland, a former Cranbourne Cup winner as a jockey, was thrilled with Zarita’s recent Group 2 win at Moonee Valley and has big hopes for the spring.
“It was great for her. It’s just a pity that the track was so hard that day and I think it probably took its toll on her a little bit,” he said.
“She’s five years old now and they get a bit of pain in their legs.
“She probably jarred up at Moonee Valley the day she won and backing up the week later probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do in hindsight.
“But we keep learning as we go along.”
Zarita finished 14th of 16 starters in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes following her Moonee Valley win.
Hyland said it would be ‘fantastic’ to win the Cranbourne Cup.
The other option for Zarita is to bypass the Cranbourne Cup and run in the Yalumba Stakes in preparation for the Cox Plate.
Zarita won back-to-back Group 1 events as a three-year-old last year to stamp herself as a legitimate star.
She was set for Melbourne Cup glory last year, but Hyland had to withdraw her two days before the race that stops the nation after a routine veterinary inspection revealed she was suffering from a viral infection.
Zarita would have been Hyland’s second Cup runner as a trainer after he saddled Irish stayer Nayrizi for the 1991 race.