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The prospect of a dry track at Randwick on Saturday has trainer Peter Snowden quietly confident a Group 1 double with I Am Superman and Captivant is within the stable’s reach.
In I Am Superman's case he has an active dislike for the wet while the two-year-old Captivant has proven competent on rain affected tracks but Peter Snowden is adamant he's more dynamic on top of the ground.
Due to a wet second half of March, the Irish galloper I Am Superman heads into the Group 1 $600,000 Schweppes All Aged Stakes (1400m) at only his third run this autumn and his first since he beat Think It Over in the Ajax Stakes on March 13.
Snowden scratched the five-year-old from the Doncaster Mile due to the soft ground and has had to keep the fingers crossed the weather would turn in his favour.
"It is frustrating, when you get those wet tracks he can't bring his best to the races,'' Snowden said.
"He's a genuine horse too, he tries hard. For an Irish horse you'd think what we have here would be nothing to him but he struggles."
I Am Superman was sent to Sydney for the inaugural Golden Eagle in 2019 and his trainer, and part-owner, Michael O'Callaghan left him in Peter and Paul Snowden's care hoping to take advantage of dry tracks in Australia.
After taking a while to settle in he's developed into a genuine Group performer with a pair of Group 2 wins from his three victories on Australian soil and Snowden is convinced he's capable of snaring a major.
"I think he is going very well, I'm happy with his work at home and he looks fantastic,'' he said.
"It's a good race for him, a solid race with a lot of good horses, and he deserves a crack at it.
"He seems to be getting better each prep, his only nemesis is a wet track. One day it will happen for him and I'm sure he will be good enough to win a decent race."
Despite the form around his last start win, with Think It Over subsequently winning the Group 1 George Ryder and finishing fourth in last week's Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, I Am Superman was a $17 chance with TAB on Wednesday.
The absence of early favourite Anamoe from the Group 1 $500,000 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m) has not only made Captivant's task a little easier he's also snared James McDonald, who rode the Godolphin colt to his easy Sires' victory.
Captivant finished three lengths astern in third place and the Champagne went on the backburner, with the horse spending four days in the paddock, due to that margin until it was announced Anamoe would be a no-show.
"He was on the walker each day doing something. He galloped strongly on Tuesday morning and all indications are there that he is back on track,'' Snowden said.
"We rarely pull them back in and he will get his opportunity."
The colt, $4 with TAB on Wednesday, showed a slick turn of foot to win the Victory Vein on a good track on TAB Everest day and Snowden said a return to favourable ground will give him every chance to produce his best and improve on his 0-2 record against Champagne favourite Hilal ($3.50).
The pair met in the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m) in February and there was a 1.3 length margin in Hilal's favour while in the Sires' (1400m) the margin was back to 0.2 lengths.
"They've been together a couple of times now and finished close together so there's not much between them,'' Snowden said.
"Every run bar his first run has been on wet ground and I'd love to see him back on top of the track. I'm sure he will show more given a firmer deck to race on."
The Snowden partnership won the Champagne last year with King's Legacy and Peter Snowden prepared three winners as trainer for Darley (now Godolphin) with Skilled (2010), Helmet (2011) and Guelph (2013).
