Written by Richard Edmunds
The growth of 2-year-old features in New South Wales in the late spring has been lucrative for Peter and Paul Snowden.
Last Saturday, the father-son combination captured the inaugural $1 million Golden Gift with Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible). Seven days later at Newcastle, Tilia Rose (Written Tycoon) handed the pair a second consecutive win in the Max Lees Classic.
The 900 metre race was introduced by the Newcastle Jockey Club in 2017 and named in honour of Hall of Fame trainer Max Lees.
The inaugural edition, won by Jonker (Spirit of Boom) was worth $50,000. That prize swelled to $75,000 when the Snowdens won it last year with Strasbourg (I Am Invincible), and on Saturday it was grew again to $125,000.
Tilia Rose made her debut in the Max Lees Classic, having run second behind Dame Giselle in a Rosehill trial on October 18 and first at the Randwick trials two weeks later.
Tilia Rose
She showed good speed out of the gates, but jockey Tommy Berry was happy to settle in second as Dominant Lady (I Am Invincible) pressed forward to take over.
Tilia Rose changed gears in the straight and quickly regained the advantage, holding out the home-town hope Redoute’s Image (Redoute’s Choice) through the last 200 metres to win by just under 1l.
“The most impressive part was how long we were able to keep on the bridle,” Berry said. “She had plenty in the tank. She is still a bit green and I look forward to seeing how she progresses.”
“She had plenty in the tank. She is still a bit green and I look forward to seeing how she progresses.” - Tommy Berry
Bred and raced by Belinda Bateman, Tilia Rose is the first foal out of Prevail (Redoute’s Choice), who ran fourth in the Listed Gimcrack S. and is a three-quarter-sister to the Talindert S. winner Weatherly (Beneteau).
Second dam Luna Bella (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) is a full-sister to the multiple stakes winner Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), dam of Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond placegetter Lake Geneva (Fastnet Rock).
Tommy Berry and Tilia Rose
Whether Tilia Rose can ascend to that sort of level remains to be seen over the coming weeks and months, but her trainers were impressed by what she showed them on Saturday.
“It was good to see her do those little things that we like to see – jump, travel, then quicken nicely under pressure,” Paul Snowden said.
“It was good to see her do those little things that we like to see – jump, travel, then quicken nicely under pressure." - Paul Snowden
“She's not a 1000-metre whippet, she's actually got a few gears to go through.
“The attitude is there. It's good to see in a young horse. She is going to learn a lot from today, and we'll go from there. There was plenty of merit in the performance of runner-up Redoute’s Image, who was trapped three wide and made a big move to swoop around the outside into contention at the home turn. "
He came up just short of delivering a poignant victory for his trainer Kris Lees, son of the late Max.
Kris Lees also trains Zeftabrook (Hinchinbrook), who raced midfield before finishing solidly into third, a length and a half behind the first pair.
