Spicer, the managing owner of the 4-year-old mare, has been happy to be proven wrong, with the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Snapdancer's three wins all coming over 1200 metres, including her two starts this campaign at Ballarat and Randwick by significant margins.
He recalls her being offered by Sledmere Stud as a yearling, with both her pedigree and her physique suggesting she might require a little patience and a bit of ground on the racetrack.
"She was always a big, strong filly, and we thought she would take a bit of time. She's bred to be a 1600 metre to 2000 metre horse, being out of a Galileo mare. The whole family gets over a trip but she's thrown more to the Choisir side," Spicer told TDN AusNZ.
"Physically, she was a big, strong filly, had a great walk on her. She looked like an Oaks filly. I'll be on record that I got that wrong. Sometimes you do in this game. You put the pedigree and physique together. You have seen horses win Derbies off sprint pedigrees, so sometimes the rules don't apply."
"Physically, she was a big, strong filly, had a great walk on her. She looked like an Oaks filly. I'll be on record that I got that wrong." - Brad Spicer
Spicer has enjoyed considerable success with the progeny of recently pensioned Coolmore stallion Choisir, notably with Starspangledbanner, who set-up Spicer's career in bloodstock and syndication when he emerged as a four-time Group 1 winner just over a decade ago.
"We have had a lot of luck with the Choisir breed over the years. She's another one of those good horses for us," he said.
"You always go back to what works, and that's was what worked. She is another one of those Choisirs coming along. Hopefully, she can step up and perform well on Saturday. I think she might be up to that mares' Group 2, Group 1 level in 2021."
Snapdancer as a yearling
A Magic plan
For Snapdancer to live up to that expectation, she will have to put her best foot forward in a competitive Fillies' and Mares race on Saturday, featuring horses such as in-form Godolphin mare Athiri (Lonhro) and Clarry Conners' emerging star Stolen Jade (So You Think {NZ}).
While she is five weeks between runs and steps out of benchmark class for the first time this campaign, Spicer said Snapdancer is ready to roll.
"She looks good. She's definitely gone to another level this time around. Ciaron has worked out how to train her and kept her to the sprints this time around. She's very explosive and she seems like she is in the right frame of mind for this week's race," Spicer said.
"She worked well on Tuesday morning and ran a super time. Hopefully not too quick, because sometimes they might leave it on the track on the week of the race. Her skin is glowing and she looks right at the top of her game."
Christine Duffy (right) rides Away Game while leading Snapdancer at The Spit earlier this week
Having campaigned in fillies' stakes races throughout her 3-year-old season, including a second in the G3 Alexandra S., Snapdancer suffered a setback early this season which forced her out of the spring.
"She got quite sick before the spring and had a bad virus, which quite a few of the horses in the stable did. We had to back right off and start again with her. It seems to be working, keeping her runs spaced, keeping her fresh and getting her to use that explosive sprint," he said.
"She's tough. I’d like to think she can bounce off this campaign and maybe go to a race like the (G1) Robert Sangster over in Adelaide, that might really suit her."
Deep Field filly fits the bill
Spicer has been busy searching for the next Snapdancer and thinks he may have found one with Lot 266, a filly by Deep Field from Rothwell Park, which he paid $220,000 for on Wednesday.
"She reminded me of Snapdancer. She's a very similar type. She's out of a Kiwi mare, a 2000 metre Group 3 winner, and had the same walk, same swagger, same head. She was a bit of a cross between Snapdancer and Commanding Jewel. She was one of our target fillies and we had to go a bit hard. It was a bit of an arm-wrestle, but she was always coming home with us," he said.
"She (Lot 266) reminded me of Snapdancer. She's a very similar type. She's out of a Kiwi mare, a 2000 metre Group 3 winner, and had the same walk, same swagger, same head." - Brad Spicer
It hasn't been an easy Sale for buyers on the Gold Coast, with a surprisingly buoyant market driving prices higher. Spicer said it was important to keep your head and focus on the fundamentals of buying.
Lot 266 - Deep Field x Endure (NZ) (filly)
"Any sale you go to, you just want to go there and buy an athlete. I can't get involved with these big colts' syndicates, buying the 2-year-old types who might make future stallions. I don’t have that money. You buy what you can afford and buy what you think might work," he said.
"It’s been one of those sales that you have to keep your hands under the table, you don't want to get caught up in the hype."
Spicer admits that steady approach might be tested in Saturday night's session, should Snapdancer get the prize in Saturday's $1 million race.
"There's quite a few boys up here, so if she does win, I'll definitely be tapping them on the shoulder," he said.
