A key gear change worked wonders for Grande Rosso in the GH Mumm at Doomben on Saturday.

Trainer Peter Snowden decided to remove blinkers from Grande Rosso in the wake of two unplaced runs this campaign.

"Taking the blinkers off him helped him to relax a lot better and he's been looking for the mile as well," Snowden said.

"He was able to get the run of the race from the good draw today and it's really pleasing to see him find his best form again."

Snowden said Grande Rosso was likely to be aimed at the Grafton carnival next month.

"We picked this race out for him some time ago and now he's learned how to win again we can look forward to more of these types of races in the weeks ahead," he said.

"There should be something suitable for him at Grafton as long as we can avoid wet tracks.

"He's hopeless in the wet and once we knew the track was going to be firm here today we knew he was in with a top chance."

Jockey Brenton Avdulla was pleased with the effort of Noire to finish second at her first attempt at the mile distance.

"She bottomed out late but considering it was her first go at the trip I thought she ran a terrific race," he said.