Tough draw for Snow Patrol in Caulfield Guineas Prelude

Trainer Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr will await the final fields of Flemington before deciding on where to start Snow Patrol.

The three-year-old is an acceptor for the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on Saturday but also holds a nomination for the Three-Year-Old Benchmark 64 (1400m) at Flemington on Sunday.

Snow Patrol drew the widest barrier, gate 13 in the Guineas Prelude, while final fields are not declared until Thursday for the Flemington meeting.

“We’ll be a dual acceptor for a race at Flemington with him,” Kent Jnr said.

“That draw makes it tough for him, but we want to get a good feel for where he is at.

“We think he will measure up close enough to some of these better performed horses, but 13 certainly makes our job tougher.”

A start in the Guineas Prelude will tell the stable whether Snow Patrol has the attributes to be a Caulfield Guineas (1600m) contender on October 14.

Snow Patrol has raced on two occasions, winning on debut at Sandown on August 9 before running third in a field of five at that track on September 6.

On that latest occasion, Snow Patrol was severely interfered with costing him any chance of victory.

“He came through it unscathed, luckily,” Kent Jnr said.

“We do like the horse, but whether he is good enough, seasoned enough, mature enough to be competitive in the Guineas, time will tell.

“We are still developing our horse, and he’s by Contributor as well, so he’s got the scope to potentially get further in the future.

“So, whether it’s this campaign, or it might be in the autumn, but I do think he might be a lovely autumn horse.”

With Damian Lane, who has ridden Snow Patrol in both his starts to date heading to Sydney to ride Charm Stone in the Group 1 Golden Rose at Rosehill on Saturday, Blake Shinn takes over if the colt runs on Saturday.