Peter & Paul Snowden’s Group 3 winner Snippets Land will head towards next month’s Magic Millions Cup at the Gold Coast via a run in the December Handicap in Sydney on Saturday.
2017 Magic Millions Cup hope Snippets Land runs at Rosehill in Saturday’s December Handicap. Photo: Daniel Costello.
A winner of six of his 25 career runs, the six-year-old son of Snippetson lines-up as one of nine hopefuls at the Christmas Eve meeting at Rosehill Gardens in the $100,000 December Handicap (1400m).
Team Snowden are dually represented in the clash with That’s A Good Idea jumping from gate four and Snippets Land in seven with Blake Shinn.
Favourite in December Handicap markets at Ladbrokes.com.au is the Hawkes Racing-trained Snoopy ($2.80), the 54.5kg lightweight shooting for a third straight win on the trot.
Hugh Bowman’s mount Religify ($3.40) is next best in betting, the ultra-consistent November Handicap winner to carrying 60kg.
Of the Snowden duo Snippets Land is the better fancied hopeful coming off a six week break between runs.
He resumed at Rosehill over 1200m on November 12 for a close second to Lunar Rise and has trialled well over 1050m at Randwick since.
First-up Snippets Land carried 60kg and in the December Handicap the horse chases his first win since the Group 3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
Saturday’s run is in preparation for his major summer target, co-trainer Paul Snowden confirming a January 14 run at the Gold Coast in the lucrative $1 million Restricted Listed Magic Millions Cup (1400m).
“He’s going to run well because he’s going so well,” Snowden told AAP this week.
“Snippets Land trialled enormous.
“He’s going super the old bugger.”
As for the team’s $20 chance in the December Handicap, That’s A Good Idea is up over the 1400m distance for the first time since the Listed Carrington Stakes (1400m) back in January of 2015.
“I think he’s an older horse looking for something like the 1400 metres,” Snowden said of the Flying Spur seven-year-old.
“We know he likes to dominate his races and there’s another horse in it called Religify that does exactly the same thing.”
Also bound for the 2017 Magic Millions Cup is the aforementioned fellow December Handicap acceptor Religify who has won five from nine at Rosehill Racecourse to date.
“Religify’s obviously racing in good form,” trainer Chris Waller said of the Choisir six-year-old who has finished first three in all four of his runs this campaign.
“I expect him to race well on Saturday and hopefully proceed to the Magic Millions Cup over 1400 metres.”
The Magic Millions Gold Coast Cup nominations close on December 28, 2016.
