2024 spring carnival trainer preview: Peter Snowden and Kris Lees discuss key targets for stable stars

Trainers Peter Snowden and Kris Lees discuss spring carnival plans and targets for their star horses.

Trainers Peter Snowden and Kris Lees provide an update on top horses and their potential targets for the spring carnival.

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• Mick Price-Michael Kent Jr

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PETER SNOWDEN

KING OF SPARTA

Peter Snowden: “He’s been back in since early July and he’ll trial late August. He’ll have two trials leading into the Sydney Stakes and run in that first-up.”

Possible target races: Sydney Stakes (October 19)

Grand Final: Magic Millions Snippets (January 11)

King Of Sparta goes bang in the Group 2 Expressway!@[e-mail]/TINkdyYitr

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 17, 2024

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HIGH OCTANE

Snowden: “He trialled at Rosehill on July 12 and I was happy with how he closed off. He’ll trial again this week and then resume on a Golden Rose path. We’ll feel him out along the way but I think he has the ability to measure up against the top colts.”

Possible target races: The Rosebud (August 10), San Domenico Stakes (August 24), Run

To The Rose (September 7)

Grand Final: Golden Rose (September 28)

It's a @SnowdenRacing1 quinella ✌

The most expensive son of Deep Field, High Octane, holds out Holmes A Court 💥 pic.twitter.com/ed1BSFhXYC

— Racing.com (@Racing) January 26, 2024

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BODYGUARD

Snowden: “He’s been back in for two weeks. Not sure exactly where we go. The ownership group have talked about making the target race the Coolmore (Stud Stakes) down the straight. He’s won down the straight before so that’s always a plus. Where and when he kicks off,

that’s still to be finalised.”

Possible target races: Still to be decided.

Grand Final: Coolmore Stud Stakes (November 2)

Three wide, no worries.

Bodyguard is a serious colt ⭐️ @[e-mail]/GSm94ItLDS

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) February 10, 2024

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DRIFTING

Snowden: “She’ll more than likely go to Melbourne to run in the Quezette. She trials this week and then probably go to Melbourne, have another trial before she resumes. She’ll contest three-year-old fillies’ races. There’s pretty much a race every week for a filly like this in Melbourne. She’ll be ready to fire when she returns.”

Possible target races: Quezette Stakes (August 17)

Drifting favourite Burning Bell staves off a wall of challengers in the opener at @clarenceriverjc on Cup Day! 🏆@[e-mail]/ycp5llqZXY

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 18, 2024

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HUETOR

Snowden: “He came back in about a week ago. I’m going to try to stretch him out to a mile and a half this preparation. I think he can run beyond the 2000m. I haven’t got a first-up race locked in but he could run in weight-for-age or set weight and penalties races along the way.”

Possible target races: Still to be decided.”

Grand Final: Caulfield Cup (October 19)

Huetor with the inside run takes out the G3 JRA Plate, and it's a double for @nashhot!@aus_turf_club@[e-mail]/mmHCY8bnm9

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 20, 2024

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UNSPOKEN

Snowden: “His last two run were much better, the last one the best so I’m hopeful were getting back on track with him. He’s come back looking great and hopefully we’ll get back to his spring form from last year because if he can, he can win a good race. If we see his sharpness in his work and trials, the Epsom will definitely be on the radar. He’ll trial around the end of August.”

Possible target races: Still to be decided.

Grand Final: Epsom Handicap (October 2)

Unspoken was given a brilliant ride by @tomo_sherry and has been prepared outstandingly by @SnowdenRacing1. pic.twitter.com/zeKxem14Yn

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 12, 2023

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KRIS LEES

KALAPOUR

Kris Lees said: “He had an easy trial last week and will trial again. I haven’t locked in a return race yet but you might see him in a race like the Premier’s Cup first-up. For a horse like him there’s a race every Saturday. I’m going to say we’re aiming him at a race like the Caulfield Cup because his rating it right up there these days. If I didn’t think he was going well enough for a Caulfield Cup, we could always come back a peg.”

Possible target races: Premier’s Cup (August 17), Kingston Town Stakes (September 21),

Turnbull Stakes or The Metropolitan (October 5)

Grad Final: Caulfield Cup (October 19)

Kalapour was the winner of the G1 Tancred Stakes yesterday - @DufficyRon and @CoreyGoodSkillz analyse the race!@aus_turf_club@[e-mail]/MHmpskyhiL

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 30, 2024

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ADELAIDE RIVER and CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD

Kris Lees said: “Nothing went right for Adelaide River in his couple of Brisbane runs. He’s a better horse than that. Changingoftheguard is another one in the stable now. He’s been off the scene for a year but he’s a horse that ran third in the Hardwicke last year and that’s always a pretty good form reference race.”

Possible target races: All the big cups and feature staying races are on the table.

So close! #RoyalAscot

Changingoftheguard wins the King Edward VII Stakes as a late drift costs Grand Alliance...pic.twitter.com/USwkUF78In

— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 17, 2022

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MISS BUSSLINGER

Lees said: “She looks really well, she’s grown enough going from two to three. She’s a fortnight or so off a trial. The formlines around her have stacked up pretty well. She’ll stay in Sydney and run in the fillies races and then we’ll give her the chance to get over a trip. After

the Flight Stakes we’ll decide whether we wait for the Spring Champion or head south and run in an Oaks lead-up race like the Ethereal.”

Possible target races: Furious Stakes (September 7), Tea Rose Stakes (September 21),

Flight Stakes (October 5).

Grand Final: VRC Oaks (November 7)

Miss Busslinger gets punters off to a flyer from Doomben!@[e-mail]/DsZwt0eICK

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 10, 2024

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TAVI TIME

Lees said: “I’m looking forward to getting him back onto firmer ground. He’s just got back from pre-training. He comes to hand pretty quickly and will trial mid to late August. This prep I really want to try him out to 2000m and the two perfect races for him are four days apart but that’s do-able, I did something similar with Rustic Steel back in 2022 when he won The Coast and the Scone Cup. He’s a Benchmark 86 horse so he’ll probably kick-off in a benchmark race and we’ll see how things play out from there.”

Possible target races: Still to be decided.

Grand Final: Big Dance (November 5), Five Diamonds (November 9)

A demolition job from the @Leesracing-trained Tavi Time in the @MudgeeRaceClub Cup! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cncy833VeQ

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 1, 2023

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RUSTIC STEEL and LOCH EAGLE

Lees said: “They’ve been really good horses to the stable. They’ll be heading towards the same sorts of races. They are both coming up well and there are a lot of options for them during the spring and summer. They’re the sort of horses that will be around $20 in those big races but if they get the breaks they can show up.”

Possible target races: Epsom Handicap (October 5), The Gong (November 23), The

Ingham (December 7)

Loch Eagle finishes strongly to win the Ingham for @Leesracing! 🏇 pic.twitter.com/iul8QX4Mdk

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 9, 2023

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INFANCY

Lees said: “She really come of age in the autumn ridden conservatively. She’ll follow the fillies and mares races and I wouldn’t be frightened of putting her on the float to Melbourne for a race.”

Possible target races: All the fillies and mares’ races in Sydney and Melbourne are

possible targets.

Originally published as 2024 spring carnival trainer preview: Peter Snowden and Kris Lees discuss key targets for stable stars