Mile options for Derby-bound colt

Demonetization will have another run over a mile before Pukekohe Park trainer Nigel Tiley looks to step the New Zealand Derby (2400m) contender up in distance.

The highly-regarded All Too Hard colt currently shares the second line of betting for March’s Vodafone-sponsored classic at $12 with Age Of Fire whose stablemate Te Akau Shark is the $10 favourite.

"He wants to go 2000m now, but there are two options before that,” Tiley said.

"I’m looking at running him in either the Guineas at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day or I may take him down to Wellington for the Levin Classic.

"The ideal scenario might be to let him have another look around Auckland before the Derby, but the Levin Classic is a Group One worth $225,000 and that field might drop away a bit.”

Demonetization won his first two starts before he finished well for third in a slowly-run Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial (1500m) at Ellerslie where the winner On The Rocks got away with slow sectionals in front before sprinting home.

"He’s a quality horse with a good pedigree and a lovely individual,” Tiley said.

Meanwhile, the programme for Demonetization’s exciting stablemate Melt has been confirmed.

"She’ll run in the Eclipse Stakes next and then the plan is to go on to the Sistema Stakes and possibly the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes,” Tiley said.

Melt made an impressive debut last month when the Iffraaj filly ran away with the Listed Ashford Lodge 2YO Stakes (1100m).

"She’s pretty smart and very strong for a two-year-old – she was 492kg when she won at Pukekohe and she’s put on another 10kg so she’s doing very well,” Tiley said. – NZ Racing Desk.