Golden Slipper runner-up Snitzerland returns to the scene of one of her best wins when she lines up in the Group 2 $220,000 Danehill Stakes (1200m) at Flemington tomorrow.
Snitzerland will line up in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes at Flemington. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Snitzerland showed her liking for the straight Flemington course when she was a runaway winner at short odds in the Group 3 $125,000 TBV Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) March 10.
The Snitzel filly will again start very short after beating a smart field first-up in the Group 3 $125,000 Smithfield RSL Club San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 18 when she was able to lead all of the way.
Even though Snitzerland was able to put in a first class effort at her first run back, trainer Gerald Ryan pointed out that all the post-race talk was centred around the beaten favourite All Too Hard who laboured into third.
“I think she has been a little overlooked in Sydney but not in Melbourne.” Ryan said.
“She did a lot of her early racing in Melbourne, this is her seventh start but her fourth down in Melbourne.”
“She’s got the record on the board and she was beaten in the Golden Slipper by possibly the best colt we’ve seen since Luskin Star.”
“They might say she had it all her own way in the San Domenico but she was running time and she has done very well since.”
Ryan is pleased with the way Snitzerland has progressed since her Rosehill win and is ready to take on the colts and geldings again.
“There are a handful of colts in the race that are on the up but I am confident she will run really well but $1.70 looks a bit short to me,” Ryan said.
“She has come on really well since her last start and she had a soft trial leading into her first race and came on really well after that,” he added.
“They might say she had it all her own way in the San Domenico but she was running time and she has done very well since.”
“She worked very well here on Monday at Rosehill before she went down to Melbourne and she hasn’t missed a beat since she has been down there.”
Top Melbourne jockey Damien Oliver replaces regular rider Corey Brown who is on the sidelines through suspension and Ryan won’t be giving any specific instruction to the Melbourne Cup winning jockey.
“I haven’t really worked it out but she doesn’t have to lead, we didn’t intent to lead last start but they handed it up to us but she is likely to be in the first three.”
The Peter Snowden trained Rusambo and the unbeaten Psychic Mick will keep Snitzerland honest down the Flemington straight.
Rusambo is a winner at his last two starts at Moonee Valley, the latest in Listed company and the South Australian trained Psychic Mick arrived in Melbourne with three Morphettville wins to his credit and kept his unbeaten record intact with a win in the Listed $120,000 39th Australian Infantry Battalion Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 18.
