King’s Gambit, Don Corleone, Empire of Japan make up Peter and Paul Snowden’s three-pronged Rosehill attack
“He enjoyed the canter that day and can run a race too,” said Snowden. “Our three stallions are all happy about a good pace and they all pulled well.
“It doesn’t get any better than getting two, six and seven with three horses in the Golden Shoe. The other thing is that all the speed has been pulled far out for them to run.
Don Corleone is rated a $10 chance in the world’s richest race for two-year-olds.Credit:race photos
“I think King’s Gambit is probably the best of them but he couldn’t show it beforehand.”
King’s Gambit was the early slipper favorite after the debutant’s rampage at Caulfield in the spring, but being beaten by Red Resistance in the Canonbury Stakes and then being a third behind Cylinder in the Silver Slipper led to a path similar to Rosehill’s those of his stablemates.
A mid-leg slowdown before a sizzling canter home didn’t sit well with the I Am Invincible stallion, who is still learning, but he showed his top speed. Snowden believes all he needs is pressure to travel.
The Snowdens realized he was about to have a similar affair in the Todman Stakes, so they went to court, brought his Golden Slipper jockey Mark Zahra to Sydney and added a noseroll to King’s Gambit gear.
Breeders Plate winner Empire of Japan completes the three pronged Snowden attack.Credit:Getty
“He’s still learning, and he’s learned more in the process than he did in the Todman,” Snowden said.
The high-profile carriage of the two fall King’s Gambit rounds was gone in the test and its massive engine purred as it carved a gap to lesser-recognized rivals even after being held up.
“We wanted to get Mark to ride him in the trial because he has great hands and can make horses travel,” said Snowden. “He had a noseband which helped and he has been wearing it to work ever since and will carry it on in the Golden Boot.
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“In this test with 10 runners there was speed, which also helped him. The most important thing was that he relaxed and you saw what he could do when he did that.
“The pressure of the slipper won’t bother him and with the right run he’ll do something similar.”
Don Corleone went from his failure in Sydney to a narrow failure to overtake Little Brose in the Blue Diamond and Snowden was delighted to see him pull in the middle of the pack.
“The inside goal didn’t do him any good at the Blue Diamond. He’s a horse that needs time to get through his gaits and he couldn’t do that among horses,” Snowden said. “I was so happy to get a middle draw because he will have room to get into top gear.
“He got off late in Melbourne and just missed it. I don’t think that will happen to him on Saturday, he should have a clear chance on them.”
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https://www.smh.com.au/sport/racing/slipper-pressure-could-be-golden-key-for-king-s-gambit-20230316-p5csjb.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_sport King’s Gambit, Don Corleone, Empire of Japan make up Peter and Paul Snowden’s three-pronged Rosehill attack
