Peter Snowden headed home from Newcastle on Wednesday night to re-think plans for Raspberries following her narrow but strong win in the Group Three Cameron Handicap.
“She has 52 kilos in the Epsom so we might head that way then send her to Melbourne for races like the Myer Classic,” Snowden said after the Group Three triumph at Newcastle.
“If I had started talking about the Myer for her even a month ago I would have given myself an uppercut.
“The improvement this mare has made has been phenomenal and I really wish I knew what the secret is, although adding blinkers has had a big influence.
“That will-to-win that she shows is something that is bred into them and when horses show that you don’t want to put a lid on them.
“I was originally aiming her at the Belle Of The Turf at Gosford but we might have to re-think the plan.
“She might still start in it but the Epsom now will be her mission.”
Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, Raspberries ($7.50) came from well back to win by a head from the Gai Waterhouse-trained Light Brigade ($12) with the Kris Lees-trained Kaunda ($101) running a luckless third.
Snowden said he had no idea what turned Raspberries from a reasonable galloper into a Group Three winner.
“It started after she won her maiden at Kembla back in January,” Snowden said.
“She has slowly kept improving but I really knew she was heading for something special after her win at Rosehill late last month.
“Her sectionals were equal to Smart Missile and Helmet.
“I sort of threw her into the deep end in that race to see what she could do and she certainly surprised me and I knew then we were in the Cameron with a big hope.”
The win was Snowden’s first in the Cameron since taking over as head trainer for Sheikh Mohammed.
AAP TURF