Charm Stone's preparation ramps up ahead of Spring

Mick Price unearthed a potential key player in some of the early-season three-year-old fillies races at Caulfield last Saturday, but the filly who easily had Spicy Margs’ measure last spring remains prominent in the trainer’s thoughts.

Charm Stone could be back at the trials within a fortnight with Price hoping maturity will allow the one-time Blue Diamond Stakes favourite to make an impression this spring.

The daughter of I Am Invincible, who last November won a Group 3 Ottawa Stakes (1000m) in which Spicy Margs’ finished 13th, was tipped out after failing as a hot favourite in the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude but is well-advanced in her preparations for spring.

“Charm Stone is in work, she’s a very talented filly who went out with a bit of pharyngitis, which is more a maturity problem than anything else,” Price said.

“When they have a hot throat they can flip their soft palate, which is what she did, but we’re hoping that she’s now mature enough in the throat to cope with a good spring three-year-old year.

“She’s a beautiful, big, strong, sound filly but I just need the perfect throat on her.”

Price and his co-trainer, Michael Kent, will get a better idea of how the $1.55 million Magic Millions yearling has come back once she gets her first trial under her belt.

“We’ll get to the trials and see that she makes no noise, although we scope regularly enough to know what’s going on there,” he said.

“She’s a big, strong filly and I can’t do much more…she’s already a Group winner and she looks fantastic, so we’ll see how we go.”

Meanwhile, Spicy Margs, who proved too speedy for her rivals over 1100m at Caulfield on Saturday, is likely to head to the Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 19.

“The most pleasing part about her win was that for a sprinter, she showed some stamina,” Price said.