Peter Snowden, elite trainer, applauded the determination and winning mentality of King Of Roseau post the nail-biting resolution of the Listed $250,000 Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) on Saturday at Gosford.
“I could see the horse on his inside (Harry’s Yacht) making his run with King Of Roseau but I just felt he would find a way,” Snowden said.
“King Of Roseau is in a frame of mind where he just wants to win. He has always been a good sprinter but he’s gone to the next level this season.
“He’s won six of his last nine starts and he just keeps getting better.”
King Of Roseau ($6), partnered by Kerrin McEvoy, outlasted Harry’s Yacht ($5) in a riveting home straight tussle, leaving early frontrunner Way To The Stars ($16) half a length adrift in third spot.
Godolphin’s Kerguelen, the $3.90 top pick, was unplaced most of the way and overtook solely one finisher.
The chestnut’s performance delivered Snowden a third Takeover Target Stakes prize, echoing past glories with Calanda (2018) and Emblems (2014), amid his ongoing seasonal ascent.
Long regarded as a quality sprinter, his stakes breakthrough came entering four-year-old life with the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington.
King Of Roseau kept elevating, claiming summer spoils in the $2 million Magic Millions Cup and Group 3 Liverpool City Cup en route to this resumption triumph.
With form this sharp, Snowden believes King Of Roseau deserves Group 1 tests via the $1 million Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm May 30, building to the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) June 13.
“I deliberately missed the Sydney autumn with King Of Roseau as he had a fair bit of travelling earlier in the season then went deep into summer winning at the Gold Coast and then back at Randwick,” Snowden said.
“So, I freshened him and decided to concentrate on the Brisbane carnival.
“He will go to the Kingsford Smith Cup next and 1300m is probably his best distance, then onto the Stradbroke Handicap.”
He’s on the same trail that served Think About It perfectly three years earlier.
Think About It succeeded in the Liverpool City Cup, rested, aced the Takeover Target Stakes at Gosford, then nailed the Kingsford Smith Cup and Stradbroke Handicap.
Later in that campaign, Think About It grabbed the Premiere Stakes on return, forging nine successive wins topped by The Everest.
Find competitive sports betting options for the Takeover Target Stakes main race.