Miss Wonderland returns with Sandown win

David Brideoake is eyeing the Melbourne autumn sprint races with Miss Wonderland following her first-up win on heavy ground at Sandown.

Having her first run for Brideoake, Miss Wonderland ($4.80) made a late lunge at the $2.10 favourite Sprightly Lass to claim Saturday’s Sheen Group Handicap.

Miss Wonderland was previously trained by Ciaron Maher, for whom she had five starts and two wins, including one at Flemington almost a year ago.

After finishing midfield in the Magic Millions Guineas at the Gold Coast in January, Miss Wonderland was spelled, returning to training with Maher before being spelled again after a disappointing trial effort in April.

Brideoake did some of Miss Wonderland’s early education before she went to Maher and the mare returned to his Mornington base for her current campaign.

“I’m not sure what her problem was last time but she’s a really good, fast Snitzel mare who probably tried to overdo things initially,” Brideoake said.

The trainer said it was a good time of year to have a sprinter but was a little wary of how taxing Saturday’s victory might be on the mare.

While Miss Wonderland was yet to race on soft ground, Brideoake was confident she would handle the heavy turf.

“We did have a little bit of work on the inside grass at Mornington on soft so I had a good feeling she’d get through it,” Brideoake said.

“We’re only a couple of months away from the autumn sprints and that’s the time to have your sprinters up and running.

“It will be interesting to see how she does progress off this or whether she’s been favoured by the wet ground.

“I’m sure she will improve but time will tell.”