Nothing Little about her win!

A tough performance by underrated mare Little Slapper at Sandown on Wednesday, the consistent five-year-old doing it tough early but finding plenty in the run home.

Working across to the lead from a wide gate, she was part of a changing order on pace, doing a fair bit of work to kick up from before the turn.

Left in front a long way from home, she really got going in the straight – holding off a late challenge from the runner up Kincaple.

“The pace was genuine,” said jockey Chris Symons, “but I had held her up too long at her previous start so this time I just let her roll along.”

“She was right at her top entering the straight,” he added, “so they had her chance to run her down – in fact I thought she had got beaten so it was good to see my number go up!”

Michael Moroney was also happy – “she’s a good, tough mare,” he said, “and we wanted to get her up to the 2400m quite quickly in her campaign as by the time she got there last time in she’d had enough.”

Having only her fourth run this time in, Little Slapper still has scope for improvement and Moroney is keen to chase some black type with the well related daughter of Danzero – “the Warrnambool Cup might be a nice race for her,” he said.

A $240,000 Easter Sale yearling raced by Trevor Luke, Little Slapper is a daughter of the Defensive Play mare Play Along - half sister to the Gr.1 Brisbane Cup winner Sky Flyer from the family of the big race winners Piko and Dealer’s Choice.