Snowden Pays Tribute To Pride

In the wake of the retirement of last year's G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Sires' Produce S. winner Pride Of Dubai (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) earlier this week, co-trainer Peter Snowden reflected on the career of the bay he trained in partnership with his son, Paul. The Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum homebred was retired to Coolmore stud after re-aggravating the fetlock injury that saw him sidelined for 10 months after the Sires' Produce when finishing unplaced in the G3 Eskimo Prince S. last weekend.

Peter Snowden explained that in 2014, he and Paul were given the opportunity by Sheikh Khalifa to pick five of his yearlings to train. Pride Of Dubai was their favourite of the 15 they looked at.

“He was our top pick out of the paddock. He had a good demeanour, a good eye and a broad head, which are things I like,” Snowden explained. “He was pretty raw and had a frame to fill in to but knowing a bit about Street Crys I had to be forgiving and imagine what he'd grow in to.”

Pride Of Dubai gave Snowden his third Blue Diamond win after Darley's Sepoy (Aus) (Elusive Quality) in 2011 and Earthquake (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in 2014, and Snowden explained why, unlike with Sepoy, he opted to skip the G1 Golden Slipper.

“Logic was to go on to the Slipper but because he was getting back in his races, I didn't want him hustled early to keep in touch and risk taking off his explosive finish, plus I also felt three weeks from the Diamond to the Slipper was a bit short, so I opted for the five weeks between runs and seven furlongs of the Sires' Produce, and it paid off,” the trainer noted. “He drew wide, raced wide without cover and [jockey Hugh Bowman] had to make a couple of runs in the race but he was still good enough to win going away, so from my perspective it was a courageous effort.”

Bowman added, “For him to improve at the pace that he did to the level that he did was very unique. To win the Diamond and the Sires' with such limited experience was an extraordinary effort. I was supremely confident in the [Sires' Produce], but felt we were going to see a better colt at three years old. He was a very mature horse physically but just the way he covered the ground–he had power and he had speed.”