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By Ray Hickson

It was a realistic response from co-trainer Tom Charlton as to whether Snow In May can turn the tables on boom filly Autumn Glow in Saturday’s Group 1 $750,000 Darley Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

Tom Charlton (Pic: Bradley Photos).

“It’s going to be a difficult ask, we’re under no illusions we’re taking on one of the most promising three-year-olds in the country,’’ Charlton said.

That task got easier when Autumn Glow was scratched on Friday leaving Snow In May, $2.70 with TAB, as a major player not just a potential challenger to Autumn Glow with an eye-catching second in the Tea Rose Stakes two weeks ago on the back of a Class 1 win first-up.

Charlton, who co-trains with John O’Shea, said his filly can only improve on what she did in that race and given she’s so lightly raced that improvement is hard to quantify.

Whether it’s good enough to turn around a 1-1/4 length margin remains to be seen but he said even if she repeats that effort there’ll be plenty to work with in the autumn.

“She’s never let us down in any of her runs, she’s progressive and improving at a rate of knots so let’s hope she can run particularly well,’’ he said.

“It’s a Group 1 so she warrants her place and if she runs second or third she’s still coming out of the race with a bonus to her profile.

“And one we can expect her to progress off going forward.”

A last 600m of 32.99 (Punter’s Intelligence) from Snow In May in the Tea Rose pleased Charlton given how the early part of the race panned out for her and the fact James McDonald on Autumn Glow took luck out of the equation and sat her on the speed.

The draw is a little tricky in the Flight, from barrier seven as opposed to one last start, but Charlton is confident she can put herself in the frame again.

“It was quite a tactical race, a bit of a sprint home,’’ he said.

“We were obviously sectionally very quick home, the winner won what it looked quite cosily and I guess no-one knows what she had left.

“We were a little tardy from the barriers and in a slightly disadvantaged position than we could have been.

“We’ve always had a good opinion of her.”

Athabascan has a profile to improve in the Group 1 $750,000 James Squire Metropolitan (2400m) off what Charlton said was a fair effort in the Kingston Town two weeks ago.

The Sydney Cup runner-up was beaten almost 10 lengths by Eliyass but Charlton said the sectionals suggested his was something of a hidden run.

“It was a bit of a weird race second-up, it was a race where they went steady then quickened from the 1000m,’’ he said.

“It wasn’t as flashy as his first run but in fairness he still managed to rattle off a sub 34 sectional for his last 600m and for a stayer you can’t do a lot more than that.

“Up to a mile and a half third-up is when he starts coming into his own. Last preparation he was a bit similar, the run at 2000m was a bit plain then when we got him to the trip he was excellent.”

Charlton is being forgiving of Café Millennium’s first-up performance in the Bill Ritchie and the Alinta Energy Handicap (1600m) will be first time since his debut the gelding has raced outside stakes level.

Snow In May runs second at Randwick on September 21

At his second run last campaign he notched a Group 1 placing in the Randwick Guineas over 1600m so the stable is hopeful he can produce something like that.

“When things go against him it all comes undone and last time he copped a bit of interference out of the gates which set him alight,’’ he said.

“He got caught back and over racing so we put a line through that.

“He gets circumstances to suit, like he did last preparation in a Randwick Guineas. But if one thing goes a bit wrong it all goes a bit wrong so hopefully we can get him back in the game.”

All the fields, form and replays for TAB Epsom Day at Randwick on Saturday