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By Ray Hickson

It doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you finish and trainer Peter Snowden would like to think promising filly Miss Freelove is only just getting started.

Trainer Peter Snowden (Pic: Steve Hart)

On the back of a dazzling midweek win, where she easily accounted for a subsequent winner, Snowden decided she’d earned the right to jump back into a deeper pool in the Listed $200,000 Kia Ora Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Snowden has a solid yardstick in the race in the shape of top weight Memo, who is a Group 3 winner and has taken on the best fillies of her age since her debut, and said he doesn’t know where the limit is with Miss Freelove.

“Memo has raced at a good level and been competitive, with this filly the ceiling isn’t on her yet and she seems to be able to keep improving,’’ Snowden said.

“She’s always shown something but that stamped her as a bit above average at Warwick Farm.

“Hopefully she can go on, it’s a big rise in class but on the strength of that win we thought it was worthwhile giving her a crack.

“She did something there that said she might be up to a race like this.”

Miss Freelove, $4 with TAB on Thursday, showed a glimpse of her promise when she ran fourth in the Listed Denise’s Joy at Scone back in May but Snowden said she’s clearly improved this spring.

When she settled last at Warwick Farm back on October 6 it took Snowden by surprise but he was delighted to see her make light work of 59.5kg and win by a widening margin.

“She was a slow maturer, very light, it took her a long time to furnish. She went shin sore before her first start and came in late because of that reason,’’ he said.

“We expected her to be in the first three or four comfortably (at Warwick Farm).

“They did go hard but she was a mile back and was struggling to be there which really surprised me.

“Coming to the corner she started to pick up and grabbed the steel, you could tell a long way from home she was going to sprint up.

“It was different to how she’d raced in the past, albeit she’s only had a few runs, but maybe it’s the way to ride her. A bit quiet to get home.”

It wouldn’t surprise Snowden one bit if Memo asserted her class in the Brian Crowley given she was luckless in Group 3 company when runner-up at Moonee Valley a month ago.

Snowden feels her habit of being slowly out seems to have been rectified and he was encouraged by how well she trialled behind Beiwacht and Stefi Magnetica.

“She was just there to stretch her legs but Tom (Sherry) said she flew thew start and led for the first 50m, that was always her nemesis the start but the barrier blanket seems to be working with her,’’ he said.

“At her first run back she was three lengths behind the second last horse out of the gates.

“She’s putting herself in the race better now and giving herself a better chance to run to her ability.”

Two-year-old Pearl Of Dubai wasn’t offered for sale but you’d imagine she’d have commanded a large price tag if she’d seen a sale ring.

She’s a Wootton Bassett half-sister to Pride Of Dubai, who Snowden trained to two Group 1 wins as a two-year-old before his career was cut short. He’s the sire of last year’s TAB Everest winner Bella Nipotina along with superstars Pride Of Jenni and Dubai Honour among others.

Snowden said she’s taken him a little by surprise with how she’s developed and is happy to kick her off in the Gow-Gates Kirkham Plate (1000m).

Maquisa runs fourth at Kensington on August 27

“She came in a bit light and backward and I thought I’d just give her a preparation to a jump out but she’s kept putting her hand up. She’s got good condition and muscle tone on her,’’ he said.

“She’s really thrived in the stable and she keeps getting better.

“I liked her first trial and I really liked her second trial, she’s done everything right since, so I’m keen to see what she does.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s meeting at Randwick