It will be Gosford’s turn to host a stand-alone Saturday meeting this weekend and trainer Peter Snowden is hoping the card can act as a winter carnival springboard for Xidaki.
The four-year-old is set to take his place in the Listed Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) at Gosford after resuming with an encouraging effort behind Mazu in the Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) at Randwick last month when beaten less than three lengths.
“He will run in the Takeover Target and then we’ll hopefully go to Brisbane with him,” Snowden said.
“He got back too far first-up but he had a good blow and he wasn’t beaten too far.
“He closed off nicely and he will be better next up at Gosford.”
Queensland has already been a happy hunting ground for Xidaki, who campaigned there last winter where he took out the Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast.
Snowden is coming off a successful weekend at the stand-alone Hawkesbury meeting where he claimed his fifth win in the Guineas (1400m) with the Yulong-owned Media World.
The trainer also has his sights on Brisbane with the three-year-old, who will head to the Fred Best Classic (1400m) ahead of a possible Stradbroke Handicap bid.
Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou had to settle for a narrow second in the Guineas with Just Party but are also hoping to make a mark at the Gosford stand-alone.
Their lightly raced two-year-old Sequista is set to line up in the 2YO Handicap (1200m) as she looks to get her maiden win on the board after two promising efforts to start her career, including a gallant fourth behind Tempted in the Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) at Randwick last month.
They did consider running her over 1100m at Randwick last Saturday week but didn’t want to bring her back in trip and ended up winning the race with Grand Eagle instead.
“We wanted to get her out a step further than the 1100 metres and she will probably go to Gosford,” Ryan said.
Chrysaor won the corresponding race two years ago and went on to place in the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at his next start.
Ryan hasn’t ruled out a Queensland trip for Sequista but says she needs to earn her way there.
“There are some fillies races up there but we don’t want to get too far in front of ourselves,” he said.
“If she doesn’t win or run very well her next start then it’s a waste of time going to Queensland and you just hang around here.”
