The cleaners have barely swept through the Magic Millions sales complex when the Snowden’s barn gate swings open.
It’s still January, and they’ve just signed for, or have had owners agree, to buy millions of dollars worth of yearlings to be trained by them. Straight away, the father and son training team want the education process to start.
“The first ones come in a week after Magic Millions, and that’s how soon it starts,” Paul Snowden says.
“It’s like children going to pre-school. Here’s the big time, we pull our socks up and tuck our shirts in. It’s a general orientation so they can get the feel of a track. It’s a very busy environment compared to what they’re used to and there’s a lot of numbers around in one area.”
Almost 12 months on, and some of the first babies to come into the stable are tearing up the early season two-year-old races. Each week is seemingly the same: a well-bred youngster with the polish of Paul Snowden and his father Peter surging to victory and into the Magic Millions or Golden Slipper frame.
They have three of the top four in betting for the Gold Coast feature next month: Breeders Plate winner Empire Of Japan, Wyong Magic Millions hero Sovereign Fund and Phelan Ready victor Godfather.
Paul Snowden is eyeing another two-year-old contender for the Magic Millions with Snapback.Credit:Getty
This Saturday, debutant Snapback, which was an $825,000 Magic Millions buy, is an odds-on favourite for the two-year-old event at Royal Randwick. Rinse and repeat.
“We’re getting things done at the moment, but we’ve got to sustain the momentum,” Paul Snowden says. “I thought taking the first crop of two-year-olds to the trials, it was a stronger group than we’ve had in the past. They’ve won various races at the moment, and it’s probably confirmed what we’ve thought to a degree.
“But we need to win something with substance to frank it.”
That might be the Magic Millions. It could be the Blue Diamond. Maybe the Golden Slipper.
But Snowden isn’t giving up on Snapback’s stablemate Achlys, which the training team bought and continue to hold a stake in.
“She’s a cracking filly,” Paul says. “She’s ultimately going to relish 1200 metres. It’s whether or not we take our place or choose another race up north next week. She’s already got some prizemoney, and we’re not 100 per cent sold on the weekend yet.
“Snapback seems to do most things right. He’s a laid-back type of horse and has a good attitude. He was in [the Wyong Magic Millions] and it was probably the barriers which swung us towards Saturday and running the other one [Sovereign Fund].”
Snapback was a $1.80 favourite with Sportsbet on Thursday, topping Lazzago ($4). Godolphin’s Crucible ($6) was on the third line of betting, and Achlys ($9) was the only other runner in single figures after finishing fourth behind Platinum Jubilee in the Gimcrack Stakes.
Bott puzzled by betting gap between star stayers
Adrian Bott has cast doubt on the price discrepancy between his emerging stayers Zoumon and Military Mission despite hinting at a long-term ambition for the former to be a Sydney or Melbourne Cup aspirant.
Tulloch Lodge will pit the two against each other for the first time this preparation in a deep benchmark 88 over 2000 metres at Royal Randwick on Saturday, a race which includes three horses who have won back-to-back races.
Zoumon was an equal $4.40 favourite with Sportsbet on Thursday, comfortably ahead of last-start Taree Cup winner and stablemate Military Mission ($12).
“I wouldn’t say they’re that far apart,” Bott said.
Zoumon is chasing a third win a row on Saturday.Credit:Getty
“Zoumon has put a couple of nice wins together this campaign. If you look at the progression Military Mission had last campaign, I certainly don’t think he should be forgotten by any means. He’s pretty versatile and effective, and it was a good win carrying a big weight last start.”
Zoumon has been one of the finds of the summer, routing his rivals at Moonee Valley before heading to Sydney and cruising to a comfortable benchmark win at Rosehill.
Bott and training partner Gai Waterhouse have identified his main goal will be the Magic Millions this campaign but haven’t ruled out a longer ambition to have the four-year-old target Australia’s best two-mile events.
Zoumon ran in the Australian Derby, Andrew Ramsden and VRC St Leger as a three-year-old.
Asked about possible Sydney and Melbourne Cup targets, Bott said: “Potentially. We’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves in that regard just yet. Once you get into those distances and up in grade, it does get harder for those locally bred horses.
“There’s a couple of nice races on the radar before we get to that point. We’ll continue building those foundations.
“He’s shown above average ability all the way through and good staying ability. He’s just going from strength to strength. I thought it was a pretty dominant win there last start, which backed up a pretty strong win at Moonee Valley before.
“He looks in fabulous shape, and physically he’s holding together really well.”
Josh Parr has retained the ride on Zoumon, and Rachel King will continue her association with Military Mission.
The Melbourne Cup-winning combination of trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will combine with owners Australian Bloodstock to saddle up joint favourite Worthily, which was sharing top billing with Zoumon on Thursday.
The five-year-old is chasing his second Australian win after two placings to start his summer campaign.
Worthily’s stablemate Secret Glamour ($6.50) and Mission Phoenix ($7) join Zoumon as the other horses in the fourth event to have won back-to-back races before Saturday.
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