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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Peter Snowden is hoping the decision to bypass The Gong with lightly raced gelding Xidaki pays off in Saturday’s Group 3 $250,000 James Squire Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill.

A tough run in the $10m Golden Eagle, where Xidaki ran 17th, prompted Snowden to wait an extra week and he’s seen the benefits of it on the track.

“Just looking at his work after he showed me he hadn’t fully recovered but he showed me in his work on Tuesday that he’s back on track,’’ Snowden said.

“He felt it in the Golden Eagle, he was probably a bit too close to the speed and out of his comfort zone.

“It was just a bit rich at this early stage but he was there to have a crack. The plan was to run him in the Gong but I’m glad I waited another week, it would have been another gutbuster.

“So it was the right call making this race a better target race for him.”

Xidaki, $8.50 with TAB on Friday, won the Group 3 Winx Guineas on a heavy track over the mile at the Sunshine Coast back in July and earned his Golden Eagle start with a close second in the Silver Eagle.

Xidaki runs second in the Silver Eagle

And Snowden said there’s no reason why he won’t run up to that performance.

“His run was very good, gee I was rapt,’’ he said.

“It was a PB in that class and off one trial I thought he did an amazing job to run that well.

“He’s a pretty handy horse, an underrated horse, he’s only had a handful of starts and he doesn’t miss the mark too often. He’s done a great job.

“This looks a better race, a more sedate tempo and he’s quite adept on soft ground so that might be a plus.”

If Xidaki does shape up in the Festival Stakes, Snowden would press on to the Group 2 The Ingham (1600m) in two weeks at Randwick but stressed he’d need to be in the finish.

Stablemate Fire Star has a hat-trick against his name as he’s slid quickly through the grades and he’ll face his big test in the Listed $200,000 Toyota Forklifts Starlight Stakes (1100m).

Whether top weight Front Page is there, depending on the track conditions on race day, could change the complexion and that’s something Snowden said would be benefit him.

“It would take a lot of the pace out if Front Page isn’t there,’’ he said.

“He’s in good order and drawn an okay barrier but it’s not a bad race. His work has been solid and he will run well.”

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