Coping with a transition from Group One racing in New Zealand to the same level in Australia is trainer Shaune Ritchie's main concern for Zurella going into the Coolmore Classic at Rosehill.

After a carefully managed lead-in, Zurella will run in the $600,000 race for fillies and mares but Ritchie is reserving judgment about the task confronting the four-year-old.

Zurella will arrive in Sydney on Thursday with a last-start Group One New Zealand placing alongside her name.

But whether that is good enough to translate into Australian success remains to be seen.

"There is no doubt she is up to Group One level in New Zealand but going to a Group One mares' race over there, I'm looking forward to seeing how good she is or isn't," Ritchie said from his New Zealand stable.

Ritchie deliberately kept Zurella in New Zealand to complete her Coolmore preparation.

For a mare that has made an unwanted name for herself because of her pre-race antics, Ritchie doesn't want to complicate her mind in unfamiliar surroundings.

"She's a cantankerous mare," he said. "She's put on a few episodes in the birdcage in the past.

"We thought the best way to go about it was to do all her fast work here and then take her over and not let her get too acclimatised."

Zurella was denied by the camera in last season's Group One New Zealand Oaks and Ritchie says her value as a Zabeel broodmare will soar with a Coolmore placing.

"She is also closely related to Lonhro's family so if she could run one, two or three in a Coolmore that would be perfect," he said.

Zurella is one of the outsiders in first Coolmore markets but she was effective at Group Three level during the Melbourne spring with her win in the Let's Elope when resuming.

"A strongly run 1500 metres in a freshened state should suit her," Ritchie said.

In-form mare Steps In Time heads a wide Coolmore market at $5.50 but she is being challenged in betting by Group One-winning three-year-olds Norzita ($6) and Dear Demi ($7).