‘He’s good, he’s ready to go’ – Raging Force bids to make it four on the bounce in red-hot San Domenico
A classic edition of the coveted San Domenico stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) awaits on Saturday as a handful of last season’s finest juvenile colts reappear with anticipation buzzing over their three-year-old spring campaigns.
But it’s a gelding by Newgate Farm’s promising young sire Cosmic Force (Deep Field) who missed the autumn completely who is favourite for the event, and is filling his seasoned trainer with confidence he can extend his winning streak to four in the Rosehill feature.
A compact but quality nine-horse field has accepted with the top six resuming, including Coolmore’s highly rated Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) runner-up Wodeton (Wootton Bassett), Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) hero Devil Night (Extreme Choice), three-time winner Rivellino (Too Darn Hot) – the highest earner in the race – and Black Opal (Gr 3, 1200m) victor King Of Pop (Farnan).
But beneath those, and lower on the scale in the set weights and penalties event, is Raging Force (Cosmic Force), who’s drawing high praise from trainer Peter Snowden, and was a $2.40 favourite on Wednesday, ahead of Wodeton at $2.90.
Raging Force helped Cosmic Force finish eighth on Australia’s second season sires’ table last term and was part of a hugely successful 2024-25 for Darby Racing.
Bought at the higher end of the famously bargain-buying syndicator’s range for $150,000 – from breeder and vet Richard McClenahan of Mullaglass Stud at Inglis Classic – Raging Force showed out early as a young colt in the busy stable of master juvenile conditioner Snowden.
He was forward enough for Sydney’s first official two-year-old barrier trials at Kensington, and was one of the day’s more impressive performers, scoring by 0.49 lengths in a heat including subsequent high-end winners Farcited (Farnan) and Aerodrome (Ole Kirk).
But, firmly backed as $4.20 second favourite for his debut in Randwick’s Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m), Raging Force failed to flatter, finishing a 3.11–lengths sixth of eight.
Somewhat rambunctious, and slightly bulky, Raging Force was sent for a gelding procedure and a long spell, not reappearing until well after the autumn two-year-old highlights.
But his progress since has been back in line with expectations from his first barrier trial, with three wins from as many starts.
Taken back to Snowden’s old home patch for his resumption, he won Muswellbrook’s Red Crown 2YO Handicap (900m) on June 1 by more than two lengths.
The third foal of Listed-placed Miss Loren (Stryker) then went to Kensington for a 3.97-lengths romp in an 1100-metre juvenile handicap on June 25, and rose to Saturday metro class for a 2.16-lengths victory in an 1100-metre Rosehill handicap on July 5, humping 59 kilograms with ease on a Soft 7, racing on the pace as usual.
After a brief break, Snowden gave the gelding a barrier trial on the Randwick synthetic on August 19, for a comfortable 0.69-lengths win under Tommy Berry, who’s ridden him in his past two races and retains the ride this Saturday.
Rosehill was rated a Soft 7 on Wednesday and although fine weather is forecast for the rest of the week, will likely still be in the soft range on Saturday.
And Snowden believes that with race fitness on his side, Raging Force will take a power of beating in the San Domenico, which the trainer has won twice recently with Obsequious (Lonhro) in 2010 and Pariah (Redoute’s Choice) in 2017.
“He’s good, he’s ready to go,” Snowden told ANZ News.
“He’s done a good job. He had three nice runs before he went out, came back in good order and trialled great the other day, so there’s a fair bit to be confident about going into Saturday.
“He’s got a good bit of residual fitness. That’s always helpful at this time of year, when a lot of horses are resuming and the ground’s a bit wet.”
That was shown again in Randwick’s three-year-old feature last Saturday when Savvy Hallie (Hellbent) – second-up and off a nine-day back-up – beat several highly-rated resuming opponents in the Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
Snowden said the gelding operation had been the making of Raging Force, one of three promising young horses he has by Cosmic Force, who he describes as a stallion who’s “doing a good job and might be going places”.
“Raging Force was pretty colty early on, and he was getting heavy,” Snowden said. “So we thought it would be better to geld him, and it’s worked well for him.
“He didn’t run in the autumn for a reason – he wasn’t ready. He’s ready now and he’ll hopefully prove it.
“He’s furnished nicely as a three-year-old and he’s good all over: good temperament, good body, conformation, good eater, and a nice horse to work with.
“He should run well. You’ve got to be pleased with what he’s done so far in his last three. He hasn’t beaten anything decent yet, but he gets his chance on Saturday.
“He’s going in in good order, he’s got a good gate, the horse is fit and he should be running well.”
Snowden said all going well, Raging Force would progress to the Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m) on September 13, with a decision to be made from there as to whether or not he contests the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) on September 27.
The trainer also accepted for the sole filly in the San Domenico in Magic Night Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner Memo (Capitalist), who was scratched from a Heavy 10 in the Silver Shadow.
But Snowden said Memo might instead contest a barrier trial on Thursday at Rosehill and go into Saturday week’s Furious Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) for fillies.
“She’s ready to race, we’ve just got to work out what’s best for her,” he said.
Memo went close to having a mega two-year-old season. Alongside her one win from seven starts she ran four placings, including a 1.5-lengths second as favourite in the Gold Coast’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), and a third in the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) at $4.80.
But Snowden said the filly had fared brilliantly, emphatically proving her class.
“I was very happy with her campaign,” he said. “She won $700,000, so I thought she did a great job.”
Another veteran master of young horses – Gerald Ryan – will not be drawn into ranking his early season three-year-olds as they shape to provide him and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou with a bounteous spring.
King Of Pop was the stable’s top yearling purchase last year at $800,000 at Magic Millions Gold Coast, and the colt won two of four in his campaign in the autumn.
After scoring at Warwick Farm on debut – beating the subsequently smart Savvy Hallie – he took the Black Opal before running 12th in the Golden Slipper from the widest gate of 16.
King Of Pop bounced back for a 0.22-lengths second in the Kindergarten Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) before a spell, and has placed in his two barrier trials this time in.
He’s a $7.50 third elect for his resumption in the San Domenico, but has a hard act to follow from his own stable.
Ryan and Alexiou’s Skyhook (Written Tycoon) resumed in powerhouse style on August 16 with a 0.59-lengths win – under 60.5 kilograms on a Heavy 8 – in Rosehill’s Rosebud (Listed, 1100m).
The win suggested Skyhook had come back in buoyant fashion after an already impressive two-year-old season, in which he ran a 0.14-length second in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), won the Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) by 3.24 lengths, and ran a fair seventh in the Slipper on a one-week back-up.
Ryan says he has two golden rules with good horses.
“You don’t work them together, because they bust each other’s guts,” he said.
“And I never compare horses, because everyone’s an individual and they’re all different.
“These two are very different. King Of Pop is a lot quieter than Skyhook. And they’re at opposite ends of the scale on build.
“King Of Pop is short, nuggety and thick-set. Skyhook is tall, lanky and athletic. King Of Pop looks like a British bulldog. Skyhook looks like a greyhound. They’re two totally different horses.
“So I’ve had so many people ask me who is better, and I will not answer that question to anyone. All I’ll say is I’m glad the two are in my barn.”
That said, Ryan is happy with how King Of Pop is going into the San Domenico, all things considered.
“He’s come back good, but you never know with young horses coming back until raceday,” he said.
“He’s hard to get a line on, because he’s a casual, laid-back bugger; he doesn’t bounce around all over the joint.
“But his trackwork is good, and solid, without being over the top. I always work good horses with inferior horses so they’re still winning. He worked with a maiden on Tuesday.
“He’s done well, and trialled well. He’s not screwed right down but I’m happy with him going into the race first-up.
“My confidence levels were good – until the barrier draw came out, which was not ideal. He’s out wide, with a lot of speed inside him.”
King Of Pop, who’s usually raced on pace, has gate eight of nine for Zac Lloyd.
Raging Force has barrier four, Wodeton and James McDonald gate two, Rivellino and Jason Collett barrier one, and Devil Night – who’s also entered for Saturday’s McNeil Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Caulfield – has barrier six for Tyler Schiller.