TWO-IN-A-ROW FOR SNEAK PREVIEW

By Graham Potter | Friday, January 5, 2024

At eight years of age, Sneak Preview continues to be something of an old marvel and his second win in a row, coming in an Open Handicap over 1600m at the Sunshine Coast of January 5, stands as further testimony to that fact.

A winner of his previous start in a BM78 Handicap over 1820m in town (at Eagle Farm), the David Vandyke trained son of Smart Missile came back in distance here and made light work of having to carry 60kg and give weight (from 0.5kg to 5.5kg) to all of his rivals.

Sneak Preview, who started on the second line of betting at $4, went back early, dropping back to last a little over four lengths behind the $2.60 favourite So Dapper who had been taken straight to the lead.

The six runners held their respective positions all the way down the back stretch and through the first half of the sweep to the home turn ... where Sneak Preview now trailed by five lengths.

Cejay Graham had been patience personified on Sneak Preview until the home turn, where she now circled four wide to, what she thought, would be a position where she would have a trouble-free run home.

That was not to be the case though as, no sooner had Sneak Preview began to lengthen his stride, then Fire King ($5.50) was forced to shift out marginally after movement from horses along his inside ... and Sneak Preview ran right up onto the heels of Fire King causing a really nasty moment for Graham who did an enormous job in that moment.

Not only did Graham manage to switch Sneak Preview out forcibly away from its collision course with Fire King, but she also got her mount back balanced and into stride so quickly again that the interference was going to make no difference to the result at all as Sneak Preview then successfully went about methodically reeling So Dapper while also outgunning and going past Fire King, who, himself, fought on strongly to the line.

The winning margin in Sneak Preview’s eleventh career victory was 1.30 lengths.

More articles