2 days ago
8
Craig Kerry
May 28, 2026 — 5:00pm
Peter Snowden was eyeing conditions to suit his runners on Saturday as he chased feature wins at Rosehill and Eagle Farm.
The Randwick trainer will aim for back-to-back victories with Touristic in the $200,000 listed Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) at Rosehill, which was rated a heavy 10 on Thursday morning. Predicted showers overnight and on Friday looked likely to keep it in the heavy range, which will improve Touristic’s hopes.
The seven-year-old relished heavy 8 going last year in a two-length victory and is in arguably better form this time. He won the Canberra Cup (2000m) on a soft 7 in March and was closing off well when 1.55 lengths third in the Gosford Cup (2100m) last start on a good 4.
A draw in gate three was another plus for Touristic, which was $11 (TAB) for Saturday. Andrew Adkins, who won on him last year, is aboard again.
“He’s going well and his Gosford run was excellent,” Snowden said.
“No doubt about it, a wet track certainly plays into his favour and he’s going great, so he’s definitely a good hope.
“He won a Canberra Cup four starts ago and then he’s met firm tracks [at his past two starts].
“This is the first wet track he’s had for quite a while, so we’re looking forward to it. He always brings his best on these tracks.”
At Eagle Farm, Snowden hoped a clear forecast past Thursday would bring the heavy 8 track into the soft range for King Of Roseau in the group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m).
The four-year-old, a $13 chance with Tom Sherry to ride, will have to overcome a draw on the extreme outside but heads to his first group 1 test on a three-race winning streak and second-up off victory in the Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) at Gosford.
“It’s a shocking barrier, but Eagle Farm is very much like Randwick,” Snowden said.
“There’s a long run home there, so if he gets in somewhere, he’s a good chance of winning.
“He’s better on good tracks, but if it’s a five or six, that won’t hurt him at all.”
Snowden also has Beadman, a winner on soft and heavy going, at Eagle Farm in the group 3 Fred Best Classic. He was two and a half lengths fifth last start in the Doomben 10,000.
“He’s stepping up to 1400 for the first time, but he’s got a nice draw [in eight] to help him and he’s going well still, so he’s definitely in the mix,” he said.
“I thought it was a good run last start. He just got crowded by the horse that ran second, he kept coming in under his neck, and he wasn’t beaten far.”
Akaysha rattled home to finish three-quarters of a length away at Scone last start in the listed Denise’s Joy and she has another wide gate to overcome in the Helen Coughlan Stakes.
At Rosehill, a heavy track will bring four-year-old Applaud into calculations in the last, where he has gate six and the three-kilograms claim of Mitch Stapleford. Owned by Snowden’s wife, Lyn, Applaud has not raced since January and has won both starts on heavy ground.
“He’s a good wet-tracker and Mitch’s claim certainly helps a lot,” he said.
“It’s the last race, so it will be a bog by then, so it should help him. His first-up form is good, so he should be running well. He was purposely tipped out to come back for winter.”
