Sweet Embrace Winner Anaheed Sets Sights on Golden Slipper

Team Snowden look to hinge their hopes on Anaheed ahead of Rosehill’s $3.5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) race on March 23.

The two-year-old by Fastnet Rock won the Group 1 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday, beating home a strong field to win narrowly at the line over Chris Waller trained co-favourite Still Single.

Anaheed, above, has firmed onto the third line of betting with Ladbrokes ahead of the Golden Slipper on March 23. Photo Credit: Steve Hart.

The Snowden team have won the Golden Slipper twice, most recently with Capitalist in 2016. Anaheed, who has now won on the heavy and the dry, has firmed into $21.00 with Ladbrokes, but Paul Snowden admits the journey up until this point hasn’t been easy.

“She had a bit of joint. It’s hard for a robust filly to get that sort of fitness into it as well as not doing too much to aggravate it. It was just like she rolled an ankle. You can still walk. Just got to hold her together” Snowden said when asked on Anaheed’s past issues.

Anaheed was second-up at Randwick on Saturday after finishing fifth in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview for fillies at Caulfield in January. Prior to that, she claimed the Victory Vein Plate (1000m) at Randwick last October, while Snowden now sets his sights on the Slipper on March 23.

“I think so with a trial in between” Snowden said when asked on whether or not Anaheed would head straight to the Slipper.

Winning jockey Tim Clark confirmed Anaheed had her problems, but thought she improved drastically from her win last year. The blinkers on proved to be the trick, and although the youngster still wandered a little down the straight, Clark still thinks she’s got a bright future ahead.

“She’s a nice filly. Still a bit raw with improvement to come. She’s definitely a stronger filly now then when I last rode her, she’s got a good attitude to” Clark said.

“We got it soft enough outside the leader. We were a bit concerned about that before the race, we thought there might have been a bit more pressure, but we were able to get there and control it.

She wandered a little bit up the straight so if she got something to follow for a bit longer she could even go a bit better. Nice to see her back in the winner’s stall.”

Second place-getter Still Single, ridden by Hugh Bowman, was unlucky not to pinch the win at the line, while Let It Pour debuted nicely for Bjorn Baker running third.

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