The Oakleigh Plate is in trainer Henry Dwyer’s sights with sprinting mare Snitty Kitty who will continue preparations towards her Group One target in a jump-out at Caulfield.
Snitty Kitty will run over 800m on Tuesday as a stepping stone to her planned return in the Listed W.J Adams Stakes (1000m) on February 3.
The four-year-old mare has continued to step up in her 11 starts, registering six wins including both her spring starts last campaign.
After a convincing win in a benchmark race over the Oakleigh Plate course and distance of 1100m at Caulfield on October 1, Snitty Kitty claimed the Group Two Caulfield Sprint (1000m) by 2-1/4-lengths, running .3s outside the course record.
“She’ll have a jump-out tomorrow over 800 metres on the course proper and then she’ll probably go to the Adams Stakes first-up at Caulfield and then the Oakleigh Plate three weeks later,” Dwyer said.
“She’ll go in underdone first-up as she was last preparation but she got away with it, and then we have three weeks to tune her up for the 2018 Oakleigh Plate which is her main target.
“The Oakleigh Plate looks the ideal race for her. She’s pretty dynamic over a short course around Caulfield on her home track and she gets in on the minimum in a race like that, you’d think.”
Dwyer says Snitty Kitty seems to have come back in terrific order and he believes the mare is still improving.
“All along she’s been a mare that every start and every preparation she’s just got better and better and I wouldn’t expect that to be any different this time,” he said.
“She’s a strong mare but she’s thickened up again.
“Her two wins last preparation, they were probably good enough to win an Oakleigh Plate so she only really needs to come back as good as she was last time to be really competitive.”
