3 months ago
20
By Craig Kerry
November 27, 2025 — 5.00pm
Randwick trainer Peter Snowden hopes a measured approach with his contenders will reap dividends in the three stakes races at Rosehill on Saturday.
Snowden has favourite Zealously ($4 TAB) in the listed Starlight Stakes (1100m), Xidaki ($12) and Touristic ($101) in the group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) and $26 chances Unspoken and Huetor in the listed ATC Cup (2000m).
Zealously wins at Scone’s standalone meeting in May. Credit: Getty Images
Zealously remains strong in the market despite a less than ideal preparation for the Starlight and an awkward draw in gate nine of 13.
The four-year-old won first-up at Warwick Farm (1000m) then was third in the group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1000m) on October 18, but he has not raced since. He was favourite in the lead-up to the $300,000 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla last Saturday, but Snowden opted to avoid the heavy track when rain persisted.
While happy with that decision, Snowden was concerned about the long break between runs.
“It was a good decision, he wouldn’t have handled that track,” Snowden said.
“We scratched knowing this was another good option, but he’s had six weeks between runs now, which is not ideal. I wouldn’t say he’s underdone, but he’s going to need to step up.
“I normally would have trialled him in between, but just with the way tracks have been, it just hasn’t worked out. But there’s no excuses on Saturday. His work on Tuesday was very good, so he should be running well.”
Snowden hoped a cautious approach with Huetor would also pay off.
The nine-year-old was to race in the $300,000 Beauford (2300m) at Newcastle two weeks ago, but Snowden chose to wait because of poor bloodwork.
Huetor was on the brink of retirement before an encouraging fourth in the Rosehill Cup last start on November 1. It was his fourth run back from more than a year away to recover from career-threatening tendon injuries suffered when he was galloped on in the 2024 Caulfield Cup.
“He’s had two good gallops since [the blood problem] and I was more than happy with his work on Tuesday,” he said. “He’s had a lot of dramas in his life, but he’s put his hand back up.
“He’s the same as Touristic. They will be going to the same sort of races over the next four or five weeks.”
Unspoken’s build-up has been smoother. The seven-year-old was sixth in Shannon Stakes (1500m) then fourth in a 1800m listed race at Flemington, but it comes after a stop-start 18 months.
“His first-up run was very good and his second-up run in Melbourne I thought was excellent and he’s ready for 2000m now,” he said.
“He’s had a few issues, the races haven’t fallen the right way for him. There hasn’t been any continuity with his racing, but hopefully now there’s a few Saturday races coming up for him here and in Brisbane which will suit him.”
Snowden hopes Xidaki, third in the Festival Stakes last year, can also get on a roll after a poor period. He was unplaced in four starts last preparation but returned with a third on Hunter day.
“His first-up run was excellent at Newcastle, and we’ve drawn a good gate again, no weight on his back,” he said.
“It’s a solid race, as you’d expect in a lead-up to the Villiers [$2 million Ingham], but he’s going well. He’s going better than last prep. He had a bit of a flat prep, so I pulled the pin. But this time in he seems a bit different.”
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