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Peter Snowden doesn't often get a surprise when weights for races arrive but when he saw Dublin Lass on the limit weight of 54 kilograms for Saturday's Starlight Stakes at Rosehill he had to smile.
"She is a very nice mare and well performed, so I thought she would get a bit more than that to be honest," Snowden said. "It doesn't happen that often [you get in light] but when I saw the weights I thought she was very well weighted."
The Peter and Paul Snowden stable has a good hold on the Starlight Stakes with Dublin Lass, a $2.70 favourite, and That's A Good Idea the second pick at $2.90 at Ladbrokes. Snowden leans to the mare having the edge at weights.
Dublin Lass returned from a Brisbane winter carnival, which delivered a pair of black-type wins, by being runner-up in the Mumm Stakes on Oaks day and will look to further pad her resume on Saturday.
"She was probably a little bit unlucky at Flemington, she was on the wrong side of the track," Snowden said. "She has come through the run very well and from the good draw she is going to be very hard to beat."
Whereas Dublin Lass had things go right since her last run, That's A Good Idea missed a run in Brisbane but is ready to give them something to chase on Saturday, over the Rosehill 1100m where front-runners are favoured.
Snowden has opted to take the blinkers off and use a visor on That's A Good Idea in an effort to get him to focus.
"He is getting that little bit older and we are just trying to give him a different look," he said. "He is the sort of horse that you can never count out of a race like this and he will give them something to chase.
"Unfortunately we went to Brisbane and he ran into that wet track and we had to scratch. So he had a trial and is ready to go but when I look at the weights Dublin Lass does get in well compared to him."
Snowden will also be a major player in the two-year-old race to start the Rosehill program, where Attention and Taj Mahal are schedule to have their first starts.
"They are both not what I would call early runners but they both have the making of very good horses," Snowden said. "It is good that they have got to this point and in a small field they will get their chance.
"We also have Attention in a race at Newcastle and I think the 1200m would suit him better. It is a call we will make on Friday. Taj Mahal has been good in his trials and is ready to go to the races."
Snowden will also have last-start winner Typhoon Jolie and Ryker at Rosehill, with the latter looking to win his way into the Villiers Stakes in a couple of weeks.
"I have only had him for a couple of runs and they have both been good. We want to get him back winning and that's why [we] went for this race [in benchmark company rather than the Festival Stakes] but if he can win, the Villiers would be his next start," Snowden said.
