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Queensland trainer Liam Birchley loves having an early two-year-old up and running and Hot Snippety fits the bill heading into the Inglis Nursery at Randwick on Saturday.
The filly cost $13,000 from the Inglis Classic Sale and was bought only because of another handy early comer Birchley had a couple of years ago in Snipzu.
"Actually bought her because of Snipzu, thinking a couple of the owners might go back into another one [by] Snippetson and a few of them did," Birchley said. "He had sort of gone out of fashion as a stallion and she was a good buy.
"She is the ideal sort of two-year-old, precocious, very sound and very tough.
"It is a great time of year to have a filly like her because you are only really racing against five or 10 per cent of the foal crop, so it is a bit easier than later on."
Hot Snippety has proven a smart investment. She has already banked more than $86,000 in prizemoney from a Brisbane win and a second in another Inglis restricted race, the Inglis Banner on Cox Plate day.
Birchley has booked James McDonald for Hot Snippety, which drew well in gate four and is favourite for the $250,000 feature.
"It is good money and gives the owners a quick return. She will run a good race but it is hard to know what she will meet with all the first starters in the race," Birchley said.
The Nursery has proven a great starting point for careers, with Chance Bye winning it in 2009 and Golden Slipper winner Mossfun winning it on debut last year.
Hot Snippety is only part of Birchley's juvenile team, which is set to challenge for several restricted sales races in the next couple of months on both sides of the Tasman and could target the Golden Slipper next year.
"I have a good bunch of babies this year. It seems to happen in cycles," Birchley said. "Hardline won on debut at Doomben and is heading towards the Karaka Millions.
"He will be down there [to Sydney] for a race on January 3 before getting on the plane to New Zealand."
The trainer will stay in Brisbane on Saturday to oversee the debut of Flamenco in the Calaway Gal Stakes, in which he will also have Sailor Gerri attempting to get to the Magic Millions.
"Flamenco has had a couple of jump-outs and we are running out of time to get them qualified for the Magic Millions," Birchley said. "She goes all right and I have put the blinkers on Sailor Gerri because she had a good look around last time.
"I have aready qualified one for the Millions in Pepperano, which won her only start, and Saga Of The Storm is part of the way there after running third last week.
"We could have a few runners if everything goes right."
