Guineas contender kicks off at Caulfield

[Wandering Eyes]

Bad luck thwarted the first racing campaign of Snow Patrol (NZ) (Contributer) who is set to make his racing return at Caulfield.

The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained gelding is being aimed at the Gr.1 Australian Guineas at Flemington next month.

First-up though is the Gr.2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Snow Patrol scored a debut over 1300m at Sandown last August before a ‘hard watch’ when the three-year-old finished third at Sandown behind Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) a month later.

The Price and Kent team pressed the button once more with Snow Patrol finishing out of the money at Flemington in late September before being turned out for a break.

Price said Snow Patrol had returned in good order this campaign and enters Saturday’s first-up assignment off a win in a Cranbourne jump-out on January 30.

“He’s going very well, and we’re hoping to get him into the Australian Guineas,” Price said.

“He’s a nice horse that should have won his first two starts.

“The second start was a hard watch then subsequently, his last run, I was trying to get back the bad luch that he had at start number two.

“He ran the race of a horse that had probably had enough, but he didn’t have much joy in that race either.

“So, I’ll get a guide what to do with him after Saturday, whether we run in the Australian Guineas.”

Price said if the decision was made to head to the Australian Guineas on March 2, then Snow Patrol would join stablemate, the unbeaten Otago (NZ) (Ocean Park) in the Group One contest.

He said the three weeks would be ideal for Snow Patrol between runs while Otago would have his lead-up run in the Gr.3 C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday week.

“Otago trialled very well at Cranbourne on Monday and will run in the C S Hayes and two weeks later to the Guineas,” Price said.

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