Snowdens hold strong hand in Golden Slipper

TAB will be betting on the meeting at Rosehill in Sydney, Australia on Saturday where five Grade 1 races will be run.

The meeting will be covered from Race 4 at 5am by Racing 240.

The $5-million Grade 1 Longines Golden Slipper for two-year-olds over 1200m will be run at 7.45am and is one of the key races at the meeting.

For fields, race betting and more information go to www.tab4racing.com  

King's Gambit, Don Corleone and Empire Of Japan haven't made it easy for champion trainers Peter and Paul Snowden.

Just a few weeks ago, King's Gambit was doing so much wrong in his races, Don Corleone was considered more a 1400m horse, and Empire of Japan seemed out of form.

But the father-and-son training partnership are acknowledged for their mastery at preparing two-year-olds and after months of planning, preparation and hard toil for a race that will take less than 70 seconds to complete, they have got the timing right again.

Their trio of superbly bred colts are rated among the main chances in the Group 1 $5 million Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

Peter Snowden believes the stable is a very real chance of winning a third Golden Slipper after their successes with Sepoy (2011) and Capitalist (2016).

"The Golden Slipper is everything for us," Snowden explained.

"We train for two big partnerships and this is a big deal, my word it is. This can be life changing for those who invest a lot of money.

"The Golden Slipper has an Everest-feel, it's a sprint race, a fast race, and a race you need to have a lot of luck to win."

The signs were good earlier in the week when the Team Snowden colts drew ideal barriers in the world's richest two-year-old race – Empire Of Japan comes out of barrier two, Don Corleone from six and King's Gambit seven.

"The barrier draw is perfect, to have the three of them under eight is excellent," Snowden said.

TAB Fixed Odds price assessors have King's Gambit at $9 and Don Corleone rated a $10 chance while Empire Of Japan is one of the outsiders at $81 for an open Golden Slipper where Cylinder is the $3.0 favourite.

King's Gambit was the early Golden Slipper favourite after his brilliant win in the Debutant Stakes at Caulfield last spring.

But the shine went off the colt after successive defeats this autumn with his second placing behind Red Resistance in the Canonbury Stakes then his third placing to Cylinder and Platinum Jubilee in the Silver Slipper.

Team Snowden then sent King's Gambit back to the barrier trials where the colt was deliberately ridden back in the field before he "exploded" with a devastating finishing sprint to the heat that suddenly had the colt back in favour for the Golden Slipper.

"King's Gambit got in behind horses in that trial and was able to relax well," Snowden explained.

"He hasn't had that opportunity in his two starts this time in. He was outside the leader first-up then he then he tried to get back behind Cylinder the other day but he didn't relax because they were going so slow. He pulled his head off.

"But in the Golden Slipper, that won't be the case, they will be humming along and there will be no excuses.

"If he gets some luck in running we will see what he can do. He has a very good turn of foot and hopefully he gets the chance to show it."

After Don Corleone's luckless loss when a fast-finishing second in the Blue Diamond, Snowden was initially so disappointed he was considering not aiming the colt at the Golden Slipper.

"Straight after the Blue Diamond I said the colt needs to go to the Sires, we should skip the Slipper," Snowden said.

"But Henry Field, one of the part-owner, said to keep an open mind and see how the colt does after the race.

"So, we gave him an easy week after the Blue Diamond and he did amazingly well. He's just kept improving.

"Then his work last week and again on Tuesday was excellent and he deserves his chance in the race.

"He is going to be midfield and this is a very fast race on paper. Hopefully, he gets an out somewhere and gets the chance to flatten out because he has a booming finish."

Breeders Plate winner Empire Of Japan is one of the rank outsiders in the Golden Slipper but Snowden is adamant the colt will be competitive.

"Empire Of Japan is a bit like Shinzo, we won't be able to take up a spot from his barrier," Snowden said.

"But the horses they are following are going to be the horses in the finish. They will take them into the race, they will keep going forward, and we will be riding for luck.

"Empire Of Japan, to be fair, in the Magic Millions was a little disappointing but when we analysed his run, it wasn't bad at all.

"He was slow into stride, got too far back, had to circle the field from the 600m and was the first colt home. There was merit in the run and he had a little freshen up since."

Empire Of Japan's tuned up for the Golden Slipper with his fourth placing behind Cylinder in the Todman Stakes.

"He was a bit fresh the other day, he pulled hard behind and got tired late," Snowden said.

"They will be going a lot faster in the Golden Slipper, he won't be pulling. He will be back there ‘smoking his pipe' and hitting the line."

Although Snowden is confident he has three good chances in the Golden Slipper, the trainer didn't hesitate when asked the horses to beat in the big race.

"Learning To Fly is a very good filly," he said. She has won from the front, she has come from last, and I'm not worried about the times she has run.

"She is a winner that horse and there is a reason they keep winning because they keep finding. She is 100 per cent in the mix.

"Cylinder is there, too, he's done nothing wrong and will be hard to beat. But we are happy with our three colts, they are ready to run good races, we just need to have a bit of luck in running and they will be in the finish." - www.racenet.com.au