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Out of the fire into the frying pan for talented Queensland filly

Ben Dorries - Thursday August 24

Stuart Kendrick wouldn't be shocked if his talented filly Italia Bella wins on resuming but is worried she may get too far back over 1100m at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

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Italia Bella was evacuated away from the Sunshine Coast bushfire last week but
Stuart Kendrick's promising filly resumes at the Gold Coast on Saturday

The Sunshine Coast trainer has such a high opinion of the Fastnet Rock filly he has thrown in nominations for the Group I Thousand Guineas at Caulfield and the Group I Golden Rose at Rosehill.

Italia Bella is still a maiden but her three starts have all been in Listed company, most recently running second in The Phoenix at Doomben on June 3.

Sportsbet has her at $4.60 for the QTIS 3YO Handicap on the Gold Coast on Saturday in a market headed by Kelly Schweida's recent Randwick winner and Golden Rose aspirant Shogun Sun ($3.60).

Italia Bella was one of the horses who had to be evacuated from Kendrick's Sunshine Coast stables last Saturday when a bushfire raged close by.

The move was mainly for precautionary reasons – and so smoke inhalation did not become a problem for the horses.

Kendrick says Italia Bella performed well in a recent jumpout but he admits he is concerned the 1100m will be too short on the tight Gold Coast circuit.

"She has come along well after the Queensland winter carnival but I am concerned about the Gold Coast 1100m, because she is a big striding filly and a big gangly thing," Kendrick said.

"I would have loved her over more distance on a bigger track but she has to kick off somewhere.

"I think 1400m-1600m is probably her ideal distance, so she will probably be chasing a fair way out on Saturday.

"Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if she won because she has got a lot of natural ability.

"It's just that she will be better suited over further on a bigger track."

Group I winning jockey Damian Browne will ride on Saturday and Kendrick says he has lofty ambitions for the filly.

"This filly has shown me heaps and I would love to see her end up in a race like the Thousand Guineas," he said.

"She has got plenty of length and a massive big stride so a race like that could potentially be nice for her."

Kendrick indicated another promising three year-old filly, Marseille En Fleur, was back in work and could trial next week on the Sunshine Coast.

Marseille En Fleur, who won her first two starts in Queensland earlier this year and ran second in the Listed Winning Edge at Doomben, has also been nominated for the Thousand Guineas.

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