Wait over for Snowden as Lunaite makes country championships bid

When Paul Snowden was setting up his stable in Port Macquarie the first horse offered to him was Lunaite. She was also his first runner and winner, so it’s fitting she’ll be his first foray into the Evergreen Turf Country Championships.

But it’s also been quite a wait for Snowden, who prepared 20 Group 1 and two TAB Everest winners in partnership with his father Peter, to be eligible to tackle the series having decided on the move in late 2024.

Lunaite has won three races for Snowden, including a TAB Highway, and he says she arrives at the $150,000 Evergreen Turf Mid North Coast Country Championships (1200m) on Sunday in good order.

“We had to sit out last year because we hadn’t done enough time. It was like a prison sentence, so it’s been a long time coming,” Snowden said.

“She’s a well above average mare so it’s a nice race for her.

“We were always going to go two runs then a freshen-up into this. She has the residual fitness and she had the ability to have a couple of weeks in the paddock before we put her under saddle again.

“It was a mind freshen for her, not that she really needed it, and she’s ticking over nicely.”

The four-year-old had one run after her Highway win for a close fourth behind Hyperbolic in a 1400m Benchmark 78 back at the end of November and showed her readiness with a Taree trial win last week.

Snowden says it’s a plus to be able to start Lunaite’s Country Championships bid at 1200m on her home track.