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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Peter Snowden felt in-form mare Tashi was a shade unlucky not to beat subsequent Group 1 winner Chain Of Lightning at her last start so he hopes the form stands up at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Peter Snowden (Pic: Steve Hart)

The race in question was the Group 3 Birthday Card and Tashi spent a couple of hundred metres climbing over the backs of those in front of her before getting across heels and running Chain Of Lightning to three-quarters of a length.

History shows that horse is now the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes winner and it gives Snowden reason to be confident the Group 2 $300,000 Cincotta Chemist Sapphire Stakes (1200m) is within Tashi’s reach.

“The form was franked last week and I thought she was stiff not to win at Rosehill,’’ Snowden said.

“She got held up for a fair way up the straight and didn’t get out until late and charged at the winner.

“I thought ‘we might have been unlucky’ but maybe we weren’t, that’s good form going into this for sure.”

Snowden, who co-trains with son Paul, said Tashi’s rise through the grades this season is a sign of her maturity and how she’s reacted to the blinkers.

While she has a potentially tricky barrier in the Sapphire, he feels with the likely leader Red Card drawn the outside it gives his mare an opportunity to find a spot in the running line.

“I think the blinkers are what’s done it for her. But she’s fully mature now, she was always light and narrow but there’s plenty of her now,’’ he said.

“She’s in good order. I’m not too concerned about the gate, there’s natural leaders outside her and it should give her a nice cart across.”

Tashi, $5.00 with TAB on Friday, is one of three mares the Snowdens send into the Sapphire.

He warned not to undersell Miss Hellfire who has only raced once since chasing home Lady Laguna at the Gold Coast in January, and that was a close up sixth in the Wenona Girl a month ago.

“I initially thought the race might be too tough for her, she hasn’t had a run for a while and needs to go around but I don’t think she’s out of place,’’ Snowden said.

“The market says that and she’s very genuine.”

Mirra View is being aimed at races like the Hawkesbury Crown and Dark Jewel Classic in the coming month or so and Snowden concedes she’ll be better for the first-up run.

“We brought her in late for that reason and hopefully we get some rain as she’s dynamite on wet ground,’’ he said.

“She’ll run well but look for improvement when she gets out further in trip and two or three runs into her preparation.”

The Snowdens elected to miss the Golden Slipper with Drifting after her impressive win in the Magic Night Stakes last month in favour of the Group 2 $1 million TAB Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m).

Drifting spent four days in the paddock after her last start win and Snowden said all three career runs have been solid.

“We didn’t have a target with her, we just let her show us what she could do,’’ he said.

Drifting wins at Rosehill on March 16

“I was impressed with her first up win, it showed she was above average. We took her to Melbourne in a strong race down the straight and she ran creditably. We gave her a crack at a stakes race and she did all the work and won comfortably.

“After that race I said we won’t go to the Slipper but we’d definitely think about the Percy Sykes.

“She’s come up with a good gate so there’s a few ticks in her corner.”

All the fields, form and replays for Day 2 of The Star Championships at Randwick