Next step for Lyre still to be confirmed

Blue Diamond Stakes winner Lyre will have an easy week before any decision on the Golden Slipper.

A decision whether Blue Diamond Stakes winner Lyre presses on to the Golden Slipper is at least a week away.

Lyre came from back in the field in Saturday’s $1.5 million Group One Blue Diamond at Caulfield to make it three wins from four starts so far in her juvenile season.

She is owned by Godolphin and trained by Anthony Freedman who said on Monday it was still too soon to commit the filly to the Slipper.

“It’s probably too early to say just yet,” Freedman told RSN927.

“We’ll bring her back down to Pinecliff from Flemington in the next day or so and she’ll have a good week or 10 days here and we’ll evaluate her probably this time next week, see how she is.

“The obvious race for her would be the Slipper. It’s still a month away so we’ve got plenty of time to make a call on that.

“I would imagine if she didn’t go to the Slipper she’ll go to the paddock. I’m always conscious of horses not being over-raced too early in their careers, to get some longevity out of them.

“And if you want good three-year-olds you can’t over-race them as two-year-olds. So if we’re thinking she might be a Thousand Guineas filly then I want to keep that as a definite plan with her.”

Godolphin already has the market leaders for the Golden Slipper, the James Cummings-trained pair Tassort and Magic Millions winner Exhilarates who are at $4.50 and $8 respectively.

Lyre has moved to the fourth line of betting at $11 with the Gary Portelli-trained Time To Reign, who beat Tassort in Saturday’s Silver Slipper, at $9.

Freedman believes Lyre has scope to continue improving heading towards her three-year-old season.

“I think she’s probably a 1400 and 1600-metre filly winning at these trips on class,” he said.

“I don’t see her as a ready-made two-year-old … so the future could be very bright for her.”