โItโs had a bit of a freshen up since it last raced, in Brisbane. It got caught in the fires the other week. It was supposed to run at Gosford last Thursday week, but we couldnโt get down there so itโs been a bit frustrating for the owners as well.
โHeโs the top-rater for a reason, so I knew he was going to get the weight, so we got the claim well before the fields came out.
โHopefully from the draw he can just lay up behind a nice tempo, thatโs where we need to be, just stalking with a little bit of room to move late.โ
Tartagliaโs dam, Dysphonia, a daughter of Lonhro, won seven races, including the 2010 Festival Stakes and 2011 Scone Cup. Her final run was third in the group 1 Myer Classic.
โHeโs out of a mare Iโm very fond of because I trained her in Melbourne for a number of years,โ he said.
โShe won a Scone Cup, which is my hometown cup. She won at Caulfield, Flemington, she was one of my favourites, so I was lucky when they said theyโd send him up to me.
โHeโs nothing like her. She would get out over a mile, a good 1400m horse. The horse is probably on the sharper side of things when kept fresh and heโs got a nice sprint.
โ[Australian Bloodstock] are a well-established organisation, they place their horses with multiple trainers and Iโve been lucky enough to get three or four off them to train, so itโs been very good.
โI did strike a relationship with them before I left Snowden Racing, so theyโve followed me.โ
Tartaglia is ineligible for the Country Championships because horses need to be with their country trainer a year out from the April final. Snowden, though, hoped Tartaglia could measure up to other elite country races.
Scone gallopers Lady Olenna ($4) and Joiselle ($5.50) led the early TAB market for Saturdayโs Highway. They were fifth and third respectively in the 1000m class 3 Highway at Randwick on December 13.
