She may have been one of the 15 final acceptors for the Emirates Stakes Day feature this Saturday but trainer Gerald Ryan won’t make a final decision on whether to run Snitzerland in the 2012 Patinack Farm Classic until Friday.
Snitzerland may still bypass the 2012 Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington this Saturday
Runner-up to Pierro in the Golden Slipper as a juvenile, Snitzel filly Snitzerland was in flying form this time in as a three-year-old winning her opening four starts, most recently the Blue Sapphire at Caulfield on October 13.
She failed to extend that winning streak to five on the trot last time out however when she could only manage to finish one and three quarter lengths away fifth to the since spelled Nechita in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), an effort and the subsequent recover which Ryan remains happy with.
“I was happy with the way she went in the Coolmore,” he said.
“There were some fresh horses on the scene. All the horses she’d been beating she beat and she was the only on-pace runner who stayed there.
“She came out of it terrific.”
Now a decision must be finalised whether to press onto the $1 million Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington Racecourse this weekend where Snitzerland would face a field full of older Group performing rivals for the first time.
“I’ll just go through the field and see where they’re all drawn, do the speed and just sum it up,” Ryan said.
“As far as the filly herself goes, I’ve got no worries about her going there. She’s good as gold.”
If he does decide to run Snitzerland in the open-age sprint it would be the first time Ryan, who did win the Group 1 TJ Smith and Winter Stakes with his then three-year-old Melito during the 2010 autumn-winter season, has ever run a filly against older competitors in the spring.
“Never done it this time of year, not in good races,” Ryan said.
“But it’s the only time she’s going to carry 51.5 kilos in a weight-for-age race. She will never carry that again.
“Melito won two Group Ones against the older horses but that was as an autumn three-year-old, not in the spring.”
Due to run as Flemington Race 5 at 2:15pm (AEST) this Saturday the Patinack Farm Classic field features three sprinters battling for favouritism with Manikato Stakes winner Sea Siren ($3.60), the Peter Snowden-trained Mental ($5.50) and Buffering ($5.50) who has suffered an early blow drawing wide with the extreme outside barrier 15 of 15.
Snitzerland, drawn to perfection in gate two and the 51.5kg light-weight of the field, meanwhile is rated only a $19 chance in the latest Patinack Farm Classic odds.
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