Lightly raced gelding Nitro will be out to erase the disappointment of being balloted from a stakes race when he heads to Randwick chasing an overdue win.
The three-year-old’s benchmark wasn’t high enough to make the cut for a high quality renewal of the Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday, and while it put a spanner in the works, trainer Peter Snowden was circumspect.
“He got balloted out. I half knew it was going to happen, but it has buggered me up a little bit,” Snowden said.
“He’s on the cusp. His rating just isn’t high enough yet. He’s only had a few starts, and you need to be up around the 80s to make sure you get into these races, so he just has to earn his stripes a bit more in the benchmarks to get him into those races.”
Snowden is hoping Nitro can tick an important box to get him on that path when he heads to Randwick for Saturday’s benchmark 78 TAB Handicap (1400m).
The horse has been knocking on the door since winning his debut in October, following consecutive placings over the summer with a slashing first-up effort when he beat all but Lightning Glory over 1300m at Scone.
Snowden hopes Nitro can get another win under his belt this weekend and put himself in a stronger position to qualify for better races in the future when he also believes the horse could potentially extend in trip.
“Hopefully after this preparation, we have him in a position where he can get into those sort of races because he’s a nice horse,” he said.
“Through the benchmarks, we’ll learn a bit more about him. Out to a mile might even be his go. He’s got no gate speed early and gets back, but he’s got a wicked turn of foot, so if we can stretch it to a mile it might work out okay.”
Saturday’s 10-race card at Randwick will feature the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m), which has attracted a capacity field of 14 including defending titleholder In Flight, one of four acceptors for trainer Joe Pride along with Dragonstone, Accredited, and The Black Cloud.
