Last start Flemington winner Flying Snitzel gets her chance to win a Group 1 on her home track when she lines up in the $600,000 Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Flying Snitzel unleashes devastating finish to score at Flemington, Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
The Gerald Ryan trained filly put up a phenomenal performance coming from near the tail of the field within the final 300m to score a one and a quarter length win running away from second placegetter Norzita in the Group 2 $220,000 TAB Kewney Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on March 9.
Ryan will give Flying Snitzel her chance to repeat her devastating finish against the fillies and mares and hopefully the combination of being ridden quietly again and the advantage of her home track surroundings can give her a Group 1 victory.
“There aren’t too many opportunities to run in a fillies and mares only Group 1 race on your own track so it is hard to pass them up when you have a horse in form,” Ryan said.
Ryan had been waiting for the Snitzel filly to win like she did at Flemington but knew that everything had to fall into place on race day.
“You don’t have to go back to last with her, she just needs to be ridden patiently with cover and she will let down,” Ryan said.
“I’ve been saying it for a while, finally just had a jockey that rode her that way.”
Flying Snitzel will be coming up against the Bart Cummings trained Norzita again in the Group 1 Quality Handicap for the fillies and mares after that filly had no answer for Flying Snitzel’s finishing burst at Flemington.
Norzita showed that she is no slouch by winning the Group 1 $400,000 Coolmore Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick in the Spring and then won first up in the Listed $120,000 Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on February 22.
Crown Oaks winner Dear Demi also stamped herself as one of the main chances against the fillies and mares this Autumn with an impressive second up victory in the Group 2 $175,000 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Warwick Farm on March 9.
Jim Cassidy was full of praise after Dear Demi’s Surround Stakes win and expects her to go through the rest of the Autumn undefeated against the fillies as she heads towards the Group 1 $550,000 ATC Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick on April 20.
“I don’t think any of these three year old fillies can beat her. So she’ll probably go to the Coolmore and then obviously to the Oaks,” Cassidy said.
“I’m just impressed the way she’s come back. She had a tough campaign winning the Oaks as we know. I think the rest have to catch up to her now.”
The Coolmore Classic has attracted a strong field of fillies and mares including Group 1 winners Appearance, Pear Tart and Streama.
