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By Ray Hickson

Gosford is set to be a springboard to bigger things for lightly raced filly Sequista if she impresses trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou on Saturday.

Trainer Sterling Alexiou (Pic: Bradley Photos).

The youngster has taken on some of the best of her generation in her two starts to date and while the Ortus Financial Handicap (1200m) is a step back in grade it still presents some challenges for Sequista to overcome.

She’ll carry 58kg despite not having won a race in those two attempts and Sterling Alexiou said if she’s able to win then a return to stakes company will be imminent.

“She’s always shown us good ability, and I don’t think a stakes class win is far away for her,’’ Alexiou said.

“It’s never ideal with a filly giving the boys weight any time but she looks a nice progressive filly.

“If we see what we want to see she will probably find her way to Queensland.”

Sequista, $2.15 with TAB on Friday, debuted in the Inglis Nursery in December and ran third behind Within The Law then wasn’t seen again until her gallant fourth in Tempted's Group 2 Percy Sykes (1200m) a month ago.

Ryan and Alexiou considered running in the Clarendon Stakes last weekend but elected to wait a week given the testing ground at Hawkesbury.

That’s a minor concern for Alexiou heading to Gosford as he said they’d prefer not to strike heavy conditions.

“She came through the Percy Sykes really well, we had her in last week but 1400m on a heavy track we decided not to accept,’’ he said.

“It gives her a bit longer to get over her first-up run because she did have a tough run.

“If it was heavy I would be concerned. She worked on it at home the other week and while she got through it I wouldn’t say she loved it.”

The filly did plenty of work early in the Percy Sykes in an attempt to cross to the front but was held out by eventual runner-up Savvy Hallie before the early effort told and she was beaten two lengths by Tempted.

Alexiou said the stable was rapt with her performance particularly as she was giving away race fitness to some smart fillies.

“We weren’t disappointed at all, she acquitted herself well and she was always going to improve off it,’’ he said.

“A lot of the other fillies had Slipper campaigns or had that race earmarked as their grand final.

“She’s pretty fast out of the gates so I’d imagine plan A will be to begin and roll forward, Gai’s drawn inside us and they like to be prominent typically.”

A decision on whether Ballroom Bella contests the Listed $250,000 De Bortoli Wines Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) will be made race morning with Scone next week on the cards.

She won first-up on the Kensington track before fading after leading at Randwick three weeks ago.

“It looks an okay race for her I just want to see her bounce back to her best. There’s a big difference between her best and below her best,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Alexiou will debut Firepop and City Gold Field in the Race Against Suicide Race Day 21st June Handicap (1000m) at Kembla Grange.

The former is a two-year-old full sister to Flying Embers, who won at Kembla on Tuesday, while the later is a three-year-old son of Deep Field and both have impressed the stable in their trials.

Sequista runs fourth at Randwick on April 12

“She’s a nice filly, whatever she does this preparation she will improve upon,’’ Alexiou said of Firepop.

“We’re going there confident she will run well.

“We’ve been happy with (City Gold Field’s) trials and wet ground won’t be a concern to him. I’d imagine on his work and trials he’d be thereabouts.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Gosford meeting