\n\t\t\t\t\tBy Trevor Marshallsea\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Listen<\/p>\n
Latecomer Raging Force (Cosmic Force) has had to play catch-up in striving to reach the top echelon of the nation\u2019s young horses, but trainer Peter Snowden feels he can again show he belongs there in Saturday\u2019s Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m).<\/p>\n
The Darby Racing runner did show up early in one way, winning impressively at Sydney\u2019s first official two-year-old trials at Kensington last September.<\/p>\n
That earned him second-favouritism for Randwick\u2019s Breeders\u2019 Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) but he could manage only sixth.<\/p>\n
On closer inspection, he was found to be sore behind following the run, precipitating a lengthy spell of a few months. Hopes were held for a return in the new year but immaturity coupled with noticeable weight gain triggered the decision to geld him, and spell him some more.<\/p>\n
The autumn passed him by, while Run To The Rose rivals such as Nepotism (Brutal), Rivellino (Too Darn Hot), Wodeton (Wootton Bassett), Devil Night (Extreme Choice), Skyhook (Written Tycoon) and the race\u2019s sole filly Tempted (Street Boss) shared much of the two-year-old spoils.<\/p>\n
Finally unleashed on June 1, however, Raging Force has been a revelation, winning all four starts since then.<\/p>\n
Last time out he stepped up to black type for his first major test \u2013 in the San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) \u2013 and passed with flying colours as favourite, leading, steadying after laying in on Wodeton at the 100 metres, and coming away again to score by 1.4 lengths.<\/p>\n
This Saturday\u2019s examination is still tougher. While he beat six home last start, he\u2019ll face a 15-horse field in the Run To The Rose, jumping from gate eight for new rider Zac Lloyd after Tommy Berry was suspended for that San Domenico tangle with Wodeton.<\/p>\n
Still, he\u2019s favourite at around $3.20 ahead of Wodeton and Tempted at $5, and it\u2019s a rating with which Snowden agrees ahead of a run that will help inform which stallion-making race the Run To The Rose\u2019s lone gelding will head towards \u2013 Rosehill\u2019s Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) or Flemington\u2019s Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).<\/p>\n
Asked if Raging Force had caught up to the cream of his crop, Snowden said: \u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a setback after his first start, and had some time out, and in that time out he got very heavy, and he was pretty coltish,\u201d the trainer told ANZ News.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we decided to geld him. That turned him into a racehorse, not a breeding proposition, but it\u2019s made the horse. It\u2019s made him focus a lot more. He showed good ability early but he\u2019s definitely better now that he\u2019s gelded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not as heavy as he was and his attitude is very, very good, so his owners have done the right thing and they\u2019ve got a nice horse on their hands because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snowden was full of praise for Raging Force\u2019s San Domenico triumph, in which he became the fifth stakes winner from 85 runners (5.88 per cent) for Newgate Farm\u2019s nine-year-old sire Cosmic Force (Deep Field), who\u2019s standing his sixth season this spring at a a slightly increased $16,500 (inc GST).<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had to be buoyed by his last start. He won well,\u201d Snowden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWodeton was the second favourite and he put it to my horse. My horse had to dig really deep. He did interfere with Wodeton, but he pulled right away and won by nearly two lengths. Wodeton was never going to beat him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bred by veterinarian Richard McClenahan of Mullaglass Stud as the fourth foal out of Melbourne Listed placegetter Miss Loren (Stryker), and bought by Darby Racing at Inglis Classic for $150,000, Raging Force should also be undaunted by the likelihood of a soft track, with his four wins scored in the Soft five-to-seven range.<\/p>\n
Snowden is also untroubled by Saturday being his first try beyond 1100 metres.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure he\u2019ll get a good 1200 metres,\u201d the veteran trainer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in good order, he\u2019s come on well since his last start and we\u2019re happy with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got to improve again for Saturday, but I can\u2019t see anything wrong with the horse. He hasn\u2019t gone backwards, so I\u2019m hoping he can step up to the level again on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden Slipper runner-up Wodeton \u2013 striving to become Wootton Bassett\u2019s first Australian-born stakes winner \u2013 has on his side the likelihood of improvement gained from his first-up run in the San Domenico.<\/p>\n
Likewise Skyhook, an $8.50 chance, who humped 60.5 kilograms to victory first-up in the quality handicap The Rosebud (Listed, 1100m).<\/p>\n
Slipper third placegetter Tempted and ATC Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Nepotism ($11) are resuming, while another interesting first-up contender is Newgate-China Horse Club\u2019s North England (Farnan).<\/p>\n
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott\u2013trained colt was another winner at the first official two-year-old trials, and shot to the top of Golden Slipper betting after a Breeders\u2019 Plate third and a win in the $1 million Golden Gift (1100m).<\/p>\n
However, he didn\u2019t quite fulfil expectations in the autumn, although a disappointing first-up fifth in the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) gave rise to a decent 3.9 lengths sixth in the Slipper, at $21, after racing on the pace.<\/p>\n
North England then backed up to win the juvenile sprinters\u2019 consolation of the Kindergarten Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) before a spell.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been fittened up for his resumption with three barrier trials \u2013 for a third, a fourth, and a 0.94-length second to four-year-old sprint sensation Private Harry (Harry Angel).<\/p>\n
Still, Waterhouse was a length short of her usual confidence in previewing North England\u2019s run this Saturday, intimating the $23 chance would be better suited second-up in his main target of the Golden Rose on September 27.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a lovely horse,\u201d Waterhouse told ANZ. \u201cHe\u2019s matured and grown beautifully. I was looking at him yesterday and thinking how well he\u2019d grown and developed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always thought he was an extremely talented horse. I always thought he was one of our best two-year-olds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe turned in a fabulous run in the Slipper. We don\u2019t have any better two-year-olds than what runs in the Slipper, and he wasn\u2019t beaten far.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is his test to see if he shapes up against the best of the best but he\u2019s got the right attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a realist, he\u2019s going into a hard race against some very competitive colts. Whatever he does, he\u2019ll improve on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully he\u2019ll be able to be a Golden Rose horse. That\u2019s what one dreams of, because if they\u2019re a Golden Rose horse then they\u2019re a stallion proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
While North England has led and faded in his two attempts at 1200 metres, Waterhouse resumed normal service in discussing that distance this Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one thing I\u2019m not worried about,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019ll run it with his eyes shut.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running against North England\u2019s chance, however, is that Tim Clark will have to jump him from the widest gate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got good gatespeed,\u201d Waterhouse said. \u201cHas he got quite the speed to get over from that gate and lead? I\u2019m not sure, but he\u2019ll be right in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rivellino shone in winning his first three starts including the Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m) and Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), before powering home for fourth in the Slipper.<\/p>\n
While he conspicuously made ground for fourth in the 1100-metre San Domenico, trainer Kris Lees feels he\u2019ll need still more than the extra 100 metres of the Run To The Rose \u2013 for which he\u2019s a $21 shot \u2013 as he builds towards the 1400-metre Golden Rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s come along well from the San Domenico,\u201d Lees told ANZ. \u201cI thought that was a very good run under the circumstances. It was a small field, they didn\u2019t go very hard in the first half of it, and he had to come from the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether he\u2019ll find these a bit sharp over 1200 metres, I\u2019m not sure. He\u2019ll probably want even further.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Trevor Marshallsea Listen Latecomer Raging Force (Cosmic Force) has had to play catch-up in striving to reach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-127927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}