Peter and Paul Snowden are still learning and winning with imports, and they will attempt to complete a perfect preparation with Unspoken in the Five Diamonds at Rosehill on Saturday.
The Snowdens have only dipped their toes in the pool of bringing horses from Europe in the past couple of years, but two-time Doomben Cup winner Huetor, Old Flame and now Unspoken show they can find the right stock and get the best from them.
Unspoken arrived in Australia after wins at Nottingham, Chester and Doncaster and has matched his English deeds with three city wins this time in to climb into open company in his second preparation Down Under.
“The second time around, they’re completely different animals,” Paul Snowden said. “They profile differently race day, they can adapt to tempo, and they are just used to things around the stable.
“[Unspoken] didn’t win in his first preparation out here. He was getting a long way back and being strong through the line, and narrowly missed on a few occasions.
“We tried him in blinkers and he was too keen, so we stopped because we knew he was a good horse.
“This time through, the word acclimatised would be the perfect way to describe him.”
Unspoken charges away with the Filante Handicap.Credit: Getty
The Snowdens decided on a program that would take every step through the grades, and Unspoken has won a Rosehill benchmark 78, a Randwick 88, and then the Filante Handicap leading all the way to the surprise of the Snowdens.
“He can be a timid horse at times and to see him do what he did the other day was very impressive from our point of view because we didn’t see that coming,” Snowden said. “It shows how far he has come.
“We designed the preparation to have the best scenario going into this race and he is unbeaten, which always gives you confidence.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a PB of this horse is preparation, and I still believe that.”
Unspoken avoided the Five Diamonds Prelude, where Palmetto beat Detonator Jack and Waterford in a blanket finish, but the import’s time rating in winning the Filante Handicap compared well to the $1 million lead-up, and he had to do it by himself out in front.
Unspoken has been put in as the third pick in betting behind Queenslander Antino, which is a well-supported $2.80 favourite after being runner-up in the Toorak Handicap and Crystal Mile in Melbourne.
The Snowdens will look for another group 1 with Huetor down at Flemington in the Champions Stakes.
Huetor can cause a surprise in the Champions Stakes on Saturday.Credit: Getty
The seven-year-old wasn’t suited in the King Charles III Stakes first up, and he was then held up from the home turn to inside the 200m mark when he was sixth in the Craven Plate.
“The horse is going terrific,” Snowden said. “Everyone saw what happened the other day. He is a horse that when he is in that lacklustre company, compared to what he meets on Saturday, he can get going again after the scrimmage that happened at the vital stage.
“We thought that was a winnable race but we knew it would get him to where he needed to be for this group 1, which was the target.
“I think he can be more positive in the Champions Stakes, and that is how he runs his best races.”
Another import, Touristic, is the fourth emergency for the Five Diamonds and, if he doesn’t get a run, he will step out in the opener over 1800m.
“He is another import that continues to get better and we have aimed at the summer,′ Snowden said. “He is a horse that will more than likely get up just to 2000 or maybe a little bit further this time.
“It’s a good time of year for him and I think it will be his best preparation.”
Away from the imports, Snowden is expecting a big improvement from Snitzel colt Volatile after he dropped out in the Breeders Plate.
“He was the best trial of the official trials coming from well back on a day where no one was making ground, and then everything went wrong in the Breeders,” Snowden said.
“He just got overracing and did a lot wrong. We have sent him back to the trials again and he has just continued to improve.
“He has got a good draw and he is one of the better early ones we have, and I expect him to show it.”
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