If Canterbury winner Triple Snitz keeps improving at his current rate, he could earn a spot on Gai Waterhouse’s team for the Magic Millions race day at Wyong.
The three-year-old started at $7 and beat favourite Badajoz ($2.30) by a neck with Gigolo ($4.40) another half length away in the TAB More Than Just Winning Handicap at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Waterhouse’s right-hand man Mark Newnham said the horse had shown limited talent in his barrier trials but had proven a “nice little surprise” on race day.
The Canterbury win followed his debut victory at Kembla Grange on November 3.
“He hadn’t shown a lot in his early work or his trials prior to Kembla but he seemed to gain a good bit of confidence out of it and his work has improved since then,” Newnham said.
“Gai was happy for him to come to town today.”
If Triple Snitz continued to improve, Newnham said the $160,000 yearling buy could earn a trip to Wyong for the $100,000 Magic Millions Wyong 3&4YO Stakes in December.
Although he admitted changes to the conditions of the race would make it harder to win this year.
“It will be (strong) this year. It’s for three and four-year-olds now and it’s really an ideal lead-up to both (Gold Coast Magic Millions) races,” he said.
Winning jockey Tim Clark said Triple Snitz had come a long way in a short space of time.
Clark and Triple Snitz came back to scale to the applause of an all-female syndicate.
“He put himself in a winning spot and when he was challenged he fought really hard,” Clark told the owners.
Meanwhile Brenton Avdulla was frustrated by the defeat of short-priced favourite This Is Australia after the four-year-old gelding missed the start in the Cellarbrations Handicap.
Avdulla told stewards he wasn’t ready when the gates opened, and was disappointed his call to wait wasn’t heeded.
“He’s always been a bit difficult to get out,” Avdulla said.
“I was never happy and they let him go.”
This Is Australia finished sixth to the Rodney Northam-trained Hot Vinni.
