Latest News

By Ray Hickson

Trainer Peter Snowden isn’t hiding from the fact promising filly Tuileries faces a challenge first-up at Rosehill on Saturday but says she’s good enough to overcome the tricky scenario presented by drawing the outside gate.

Trainer Peter Snowden (Pic: Steve Hart)

In her two impressive wins in December she drew barriers one and two but Snowden said gate 10 of 10 means she risks being dictated to on a couple of fronts in the Myplates Handicap (1200m).

Namely, by the speed of the race and where she’s able to land in the run.

“She’s not hard to ride but if they go slow she likes to roll along a bit,’’ he said.

“If the pace is genuine she’ll be fine and relax well, it’s just if they go too slow she’ll want to get running a bit.

“Tempo will mean a fair bit, we don’t want her pulling, and if she gets the right run she can certainly win.”

Tuileries, $1.85 with TAB on Thursday, started favourite in the Magic Millions Guineas on the back of her easy wins at Canterbury and Randwick but her chances in that race were affected by drawing 18 and having to concede too much start.

Snowden said her run that day was excellent and a sign that she has the potential to get to stakes grade again in the spring.

“I think she has that sort of ability, she’s still a benchmark filly yet so we can feel our way as we go along but I do think she has black type in her for sure,’’ he said.

“The two wins were both solid performances but she did have good runs. She wants further than 1200m but I thought at 1200m speed they normally keep rolling a bit and she won’t get that chance to over race.

“Her trials have been good. She was showing good work last time in and she’s come back in good order.”

There’s been a change of routine for three-year-old Hopper after he let Snowden down when he was a beaten favourite at Warwick Farm earlier this month.

He said he expected the gelding to win that race and has gone back to the drawing board, taken the blinkers off and applied visors, and kept him fresher for the Stuart MacDermid Handicap (1500m).

“I shook my head for two days after that race because I was so confident,’’ he said.

“Going back in class I thought it set up perfect for him but he was the first horse off the bridle at the 600m.

“Maybe I was doing a bit too much with him at home, he’s a good trackworker and going up to a mile I put a bit more work into him to make sure he was fit enough.

“But maybe he’s not a horse you can do that with, his first and second runs are always the best part of his prep so it makes you think he’s best kept fresh.

“Hopefully those subtle changes we made might help bring the best out of him.”

King Of Roseau threw the monkey off his back when he scored a strong win last month and Snowden is bullish that he can hold his form now in the Toyota Forklifts Handicap (1300m).

He’d not won since his debut in December 2023 and on the back of a tickover trial last week the trainer said he’s expecting to have a say in the finish.

“I thought it was a ripper trial, he did it all himself, he quickened up the last 300m on the bridle and it was like a track gallop,’’ he said.

Tuileries runs third in a Hawkesbury trial on July 7

“He’s come through that well and it looks a nice race for him. he’s drawn a middle gate and he will run well again.”

Peter Snowden on Spice Prawn (race 1): “Her trial was good the other day. It was a very heavy track, I took seven out there and she handled it the best of all of them. That’ll be something to think of later on if we get a wet track. She’s drawn wide and there is an option for her on Wednesday so I’ll have a think about that.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting