Snowden camp right at home in Queensland

By Jordan Gerrans

The Snowden camp believe they have reigning champion Huetor at his peak ahead of his opportunity to win the Group 1 Doomben Cup in two straight years.

As he did in 2022, the imported stayer ran behind Zaaki in the lead-up Hollindale Stakes on the Sunshine Coast before the big guns turned their attention to the Doomben Cup.

Huetor will be shooting to become the first galloper in three decades to win the race in consecutive years.

The great Rough Habit was a three-time champion of the Doomben Cup, picking up three straight between 1991-1993.

Scenic Shot has won two Doomben Cups since – claiming those crowns 2009 and 2011 – but no galloper has won the race in two straight years since Rough Habit.

Huetor’s Doomben Cup rival Zaaki would also become a dual champion of the race if he was to get the cash on Saturday following his dominant performance in the event two years ago.

Peter and Paul Snowden entrust all their gallopers with Matthew McCudden during their winter campaigns in the Sunshine State and the stable foreman believes Huetor’s strong effort in the Hollindale Stakes will prepare him nicely for Saturday.

The French-bred gelding was beaten less than half a length in the 2023 Sunshine Coast edition of the Hollindale Stakes.

“He seems to thrive when he comes up here to Queensland and that is no different this year as it was last year,” McCudden said.

“The run in the Hollindale Stakes seems to have topped him well and he is a picture of health going into Saturday, it is about getting him primed and ready to go.”

Co-trainer Paul Snowden told Racenet that Huetor is going better this year than he was when he upset Zaaki in 2022. 

"The horse has gone to another level from last year," Paul Snowden said to Racenet.

"Last year Zaaki beat us more than three lengths in the Hollindale, but this year he (Huetor) has run him to a close second.

"I can only comment on how our bloke is going and we are very happy.

"He had a little burn-around the track on Saturday, nothing strenuous, and he looked very good."

Despite Huetor and Zaaki being constant rivals through their Queensland campaigns over the last two seasons, McCudden insists it is not a “match race” between the two previous winners of the staying feature.

“It is not just a two horse race, there is plenty of nice horses in it,” McCudden said.

“It is not about beating one horse, it is about beating the other 10 or 12 or however many are in it.

“All we can do is worry about our bloke and get him there the best he can and I believe he is pretty much at that, so bring on Saturday.”

The TAB has Huetor rated as a $8 chance as of Tuesday afternoon with Zaaki a dominant $2.30 favourite. 

As well as working for the Snowden stable, McCudden has previously trained in his own right, preparing 25 winners across five separate seasons.

He last collected a winner in the 2021-22 campaign from his Port Macquarie base.

McCudden says Huetor is likely to press on to the Q22 later in the carnival following the Doomben Cup.

After upsetting red-hot favourite Zaaki in the Doomben Cup last year, Huetor could not repeat his efforts in the Group 2 Q22 as he was beaten by almost five lengths.

The Snowden family have a long-standing relationship with premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan and utilise his Eagle Farm facilities when they campaign north.

It has been a happy hunting ground for the Snowdens in recent years, claiming the Doomben 10,000 last year with Mazu while King Of Sparta was a Magic Millions day winner earlier in 2023.

“It is great here at Tony’s, they are  always very accommodating,” McCudden said.

“They give us everything they need and it makes it lot easier, especially with the boxes.

“He makes room for us for however many we need, so we are always able to get the best out of the horses and give them the best experience when they come up.”

Mazu ran a gallant third on Saturday in his bid to win two straight Doomben 10,000s.

King Of Sparta is another stable star who has Group 1 ambitions through the northern winter.

The four-year-old gelding ran a massive race in the Group 2 Victory Stakes late last month and has since returned to Sydney, where he trialled on Monday morning of this week.

He is likely to return north for the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup on the final Saturday of this month.

After being beaten less than three lengths in two elite level races already this year, McCudden says King Of Sparta “deserves” to have a Group 1 on his resume.

He has won three of his six career victories in the Sunshine State and the stable foreman believes there is no luck when it comes to that stylish Queensland record.

“He has been a model of consistency all preparation, he has been to Brisbane, to Melbourne and then back up to Brisbane,” McCudden said.

“He just keeps turning up and hopefully he can get the Group 1 he deserves.

“I think the way of racing up here really suits him, he is a horse that needs good tempo in his races and you seem to get that a lot more up in Queensland and Brisbane.

“It allows him to show the great turn of foot that he can have when he has races run to suit.”

The Randwick-based Snowdens had three juveniles contest last Saturday’s Group 2 Spirit Of Boom Classic, with two to remain through the carnival and one heading back to NSW.

Sovereign Fund has gone home while stable mates Empire Of Japan – who finished the closest of the three Snowden runners to the winner on Saturday – and The King are sticking on for further two-year-old black-type races.

“The King was luckless, stuck on the fence, while Empire of Japan was only narrowly beaten,” McCudden said of their runs in the Spirit Of Boom Classic.

“If a few different things had of gone his way, he could have been right in the finish as well, Empire Of Japan.

“Those two boys have stayed and hopefully they can take a little bit of improvement from the run and up to seven furlongs, that should suit the both of them.”