Trainer Paul Snowden has dismissed any concerns of a wide barrier affecting the chances of That’s A Good Idea in the Listed $100,000 Carrington Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
A wide barrier is no concern for That’s A Good Idea in the Carrington Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
That’s A Good Idea has drawn barrier ten in the twelve horse field and Snowden indicated that the five year old will go forward form his wide gate as he tackles 1400m for the first time this campaign.
“He will slowly work forward. That is the generally his pattern in his races, a wide alley doesn’t concern him, he will be in the first two,” Paul Snowden, who trains in partnership with his father Peter, told Racing HQ.
“If he gets a couple of cheap sectionals he can have a good kick at the end.”
That’s A Good Idea has a good record over the 1400m with two wins over the trip including a win over the same course and distance as the Carrington Stakes when under the care of Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride.
The Snowdens took over the training of the five year old midway through last year and feel that it is the right time to step him back up in distance this campaign.
That’s A Good Idea will be having his sixth start for the Snowdens but had a short freshened up after returning from Melbourne where he ran seventh to Deep Field in the Group 2 $300,000 tab.com.au Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on November 1 three runs back.
At his two runs since the gelding ran eighth to Barbed in the Listed $100,000 Canterbury Classic (1200m) at Canterbury on December 27 followed by a head second to Ball Of Muscle in the Listed $100,000 De Bortoli Wines Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) at Gosford on January 9.
Snodwen said that his last two runs will condition That’s A Good Idea nicely for his 1400m assignment on Saturday.
“Up to 1400m hopefully it will suit our bloke,” Paul Snowden said.
“Once you get him fit this bloke, as you’ve seen at Gosford, he is really hard to run down and get past. I though he ran tremendous, just going down narrowly to Ball Of Muscle which is probably one of the most exciting sprinters in Sydney at the moment.’
“There is no doubt that he hasn’t gone backwards. I think up to 1400m certainly gives him a chance to relax and that’s exactly what he doing at the moment which is the best part of his racing.”
“He is rock hard fit and albeit though the weather does determine whether he takes his place tomorrow because he is no good on a softest track so we are going to have to wait and see.
“His work since Gosford has been second to none. He’s right on target.”
Leading Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman has ridden That’s A Good Idea at his last two starts and has elected to stick with the five year old.
Bowman was also aboard Spurtonic when he scored a gutsy win in the $328,000 Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 10 but the Gai Waterhouse trained gelding will be ridden by Blake Shinn on the weekend.
The Chris Waller trained She’s Clean heads the market order for the Carrington Stakes with Ladbrokes.com.au at $3.90, just ahead of That’s A Good Idea at $4.20, the Team Hawkes trained Ninth Legion at $5.50 and Spurtonic at $6.50.
