Snowden 3YO a Force to reckon with in the 2025 Golden Rose

Rosehill’s three-year-old features belonged to Peter Snowden on Saturday, with Raging Force powering to victory in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes to follow stablemate Grand Prairie’s earlier Up And Coming Stakes success.

Raging Force had compiled three straight wins through the winter and handled his first real test in style, defeating Golden Slipper runner-up Wodeton by 1-1/2 lengths. Devil Night, a Blue Diamond winner, could do no better than fifth.

“That was a good test for him today,” Snowden said. “There was a Slipper placegetter, a Blue Diamond winner and some other talented horses. He beat the A-graders there, they weren’t benchmark horses and he has won well. The Run To The Rose is the natural progression we will take with him in a couple of weeks’ time. That will tell us whether he can go seven furlongs or whether we keep him to 1200 metres.”

Tommy Berry guided the gelding to victory and was thrilled with his composure. “Full credit to him that he didn’t want to over-race and do things wrong. He was happy to be there and that’s a new string to his bow,” Berry said. “He’s going to be a better horse in the autumn but geez, we’re going to have some fun in the spring.”

Runner-up Wodeton lost momentum in the straight but James McDonald said he still produced an excellent return. “If he didn’t have a check he would have probably gone close,” he said. Beiwacht took third after a wide run, with Adam Hyeronimus convinced the gelding is poised for a successful campaign. “He’s got a good race in him this preparation,” he said.