Former Western Australian mare Rose Of Choice will be facing a rain affected track for the first time in the Group 2 $175,000 Inglis Villiers (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Jockey Kerrin McEvoy will be having his first ride on Rose Of Choice in the Villiers at Randwick. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
The Rosehill track was rated a Soft 7 on Thursday afternoon and with more showers forecast for the Sydney area leading into the weekend, an upgrade is unlikely.
Rose Of Choice joined the Peter And Paul Snowden stable for the 2014 Spring Carnival after being previous prepared by Bruce Watkins in Perth and all her eighteen starts have been on good surfaces.
But Snowden is keen to test the Choisir mare out of a soft surface to find out for the future if she can handle it.
“It will be rain affected, one hundred per cent sure. More than likely we’ll have a crack and see if she can handle it,” Peter Snowden told Racing Network.
Rose Of Choice has performed creditably for the Snowden stable from three runs without a win but her runs over the Spring indicated that there could be some further improvement in the five year old mare.
At her first run for the Snowdens Rose Of Choice finished a tidy third to Avoid Lightning in the Group 3 $125,000 City Tattersalls Club Nivison (1200m) at Randwick on October 18.
Rose Of Choice was then sent to Melbourne where she ran second as favourite to Mahara in the Group 3 $200,000 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on November 4 and was then beaten almost three lengths when fourth to Politeness in the Group 3 $150,000 Le Pine Funerals Summoned Stakes (1500m) at Sandown on November 15.
The Snowdens then sent Rose Of Choice back to Sydney for a short freshen up before preparing her for Saturday’s Villiers.
Rose Of Choice’s Villiers preparation has included a Warwick Farm barrier trial win and Peter Snowden is certain she is ready to run well if she can get through the soft conditions.
“We put her in the paddock for three or four days then bring her back and prepared her for this,” Snowden said.
“She topped it off with a nice trial at Warwick Farm last Monday. She’s in good order to run well if she can get through the ground.”
Kerrin McEvoy will be having his first ride of Rose Of Choice and will be the her fourth jockey this campaign after Blake Shinn, Jim Cassidy and Mark Zahra all had a ride during the Spring.
Rose Of Choice is well in the betting for the Villiers with Ladbrokes.com.au and is marked as a $7 chance alongside of Estonian Princess.
Queensland Guineas winner Sir Moments heads the market order at $4.80 ahead of Chris Waller’s Strawberry Boy and Gold Coast trained Rudy at $6.50 with Festival Stakes winner I’m Imposing at $10.
