Costume ready to resume in WS feature

Group One-winning mare Costume thrilled her connections with a strong performance at this week’s Te Teko trials ahead of a likely Melbourne spring carnival campaign. The Garry Chittick-bred and owned daughter of Savabeel is on target to resume, appropriately enough, in Saturday week’s Gr 3 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa.

Costume, who crowned her rise to the top last season with a victory in the Herbie Dyke Stakes, finished a hard-held second in her open heat. “That was a super trial over 1200 metres, I was ecstatic with that,” co-trainer Debbie Rogerson said. “We’ll look to run her first-up in the Foxbridge Plate. We’ll decide where we head after that and we’ve got the Caulfield Cup in mind for her and I really do feel she’s a Caulfield Cup horse.”

The stable was also delighted with Soriano, another quality mare by Savabeel. Group One placed last season and the winner of the Gr 2 Awapuni Gold Cup, she won her 1200 metre trial and is also set to return in the Foxbridge Plate. “She was a little bit slow away and hit the line well, she was very impressive,” Rogerson said. “She’ll run in the Foxbridge and then we’ll assess her after that.”