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Jamie Snowden Stable Tour: 2024/25 Jumps Season Preview
Graham Clark gets the lowdown from Jamie Snowden on his team for the new jumps season.
When it comes to models of consistency few can knock the performance of trainer Jamie Snowden over the past five seasons.
With the exception of the 2020-21 campaign, which yielded just 23 victories domestically, the Lambourn handler has saddled totals of 46, 49, 44 and 47 winners respectively.
Last season was another fine campaign for the father of three, who secured a record prize money total of £737,177 along with several notable successes.
And with his team for this season looking as strong as it has ever been it would come as little surprise should Snowden not only better that prize money total, but reach the 50 winner mark for the first time in a single campaign.
Snowden said: “It was a great season and we secured over £700,000 which was record prize money for us.
“It was a wonderful season from start to finish and obviously winning the Coral Gold Cup was a real highlight as it is one of the biggest handicaps outside of the Grand National, while Ga Law winning at Cheltenham was also a great thrill.
“I remember first riding out for John Dufosee, whose grandad trained Stalbridge Colonist to beat Arkle, in what was the Hennessy, and he recalled stories about that so you grow up idolising those kinds of races.
“I think we have a good team of horses this year with some useful older horses and some intriguing youngsters who we hope have plenty of bright days ahead of them.”
I really like this lad a lot. He got beaten in a bumper at Hexham the other day when he finished second, but he finds life easy at home and maybe he just needed that run a little bit more than I thought. That will be it for bumpers with him and he will go hurdling now. He showed a level of talent in his point-to-point that suggests he is above average. Hopefully he can be a smart novice hurdler for us before he switches to chasing in the future
She is a half-sister to You Wear It Well. She won a bumper up at Wetherby before coming back lame following a Listed race at Market Rasen. She had a problem with her knee on the back of that, but it was just growing pains and things like that. There was nothing too sinister there. We have just given her time and she will now go novice hurdling this season and she should be smart. She has got a lot to live up to, but she is from a great family.
She won a bumper at Ludlow before then finishing fifth in a Listed bumper at Sandown on her next start. I was a little bit disappointed with the run at Sandown, but we might just put a tongue tie on her as we gave her a wind operation in the middle of last season. She is a very nice mare and one that I think we target at the Grade Two race at Newbury in March. She was not really a bumper horse and she will really improve for seeing a hurdle. She ran well on her hurdles debut at Southwell, but she probably just blew up a bit late on. Ideally she wants softer ground and we will now just find an ordinary maiden hurdle to try and get her head in front.
He was top lot at the Tattersalls May Stores Sale last year. He had a year pre-training in Ireland before coming to us but he is a lovely young horse. He takes his work well. He finished third on his first start for us at Chepstow last week, but I thought it was a lovely debut run. The front two pulled clear, but he stuck to the task well.
He is a proper staying chaser for the future. He will remain in bumpers this season and we will just give the time he needs to be a good horse. It was a nice introduction.
He was Grade One placed over fences last season and won the Grade Two Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby.
The plan was to start off in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree, but the ground dried up and he would have been four pounds wrong at the weights with Ahoy Senor in there. He ran the perfect prep race for the Coral Gold Cup when finishing second in the Colin Parker at Carlisle on Sunday.
He had a good blow from the back of the last, but he went up there and picked up a nice bit of prize money. He jumped slightly out to his left, but we kind of know he is better on a left-handed track. You couldn’t have been more delighted with him.
We are going to try and follow the same route as Datsalrightgino. The first time we stepped Datsalrightgino beyond three miles was in the Coral Gold Cup and we are hoping there will be a bit of improvement to come from his handicap mark going up in trip.
He was quite a buzzy horse early on in his career, and running over two miles kind of suited him, but when we stepped him up in trip over fences last year he won the Towton. I will put an entry in the Paddy Power as well as if it did come up bottomless he could run in that, but if it came up good we have Ga Law for it.
He is a smashing looking individual and hopefully we can have a lot of fun with him. You would like to think there is a decent handicap in him this season. You would like to think that if he stays in the Coral Gold Cup he would have every chance.
EPIC WEST
He was only just beaten into second on his point-to-point debut at Lisronagh before winning on his second start in that sphere at Belclare. His half-brother Complete Unknown won an EBF Final at Sandown and he will feature in our novice hurdle team this season. While he will race over hurdles this season he already looks like a horse that is tailor made for a fence.
He ran a mighty race in the Midlands National last season, but he probably didn’t quite stay on the ground that day. He is off a mark of 132 and I think the plan is to go back for both the Grand Military Gold Cup and the Royal Artillery Gold Cup and it would be great to do the double again. We might then consider going for the Cross Country race at the Cheltenham Festival now it is a handicap. We might give him a spin over the Cross Country course in December to see how he takes to it.
He won a point-to-point at Milborne St Andrew when trained by Will Biddick. He is a big strapping individual that goes nicely and he will start off in bumpers.
We have some great success for his owners with Datsalrightgino and Colonel Harry and I think this lad is smart as well.
I was really impressed with him up at Uttoxeter. He looked really good and I thought he looked the class horse in the paddock, and he ran like it. Under hands and heels he won pretty comfortably. I would have thought now we will go for the Listed bumper at Ascot before Christmas now.
He is only eight years old and won his first Grade Two for us as a four year-old at Wincanton He won the Paddy Power Gold Cup the season before last and a decent handicap back at Cheltenham last season. Each season he has delivered and this season he looks like he has improved at home. We only had him 90 per cent fit for Chepstow as we were using that as a springboard for the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
He won the Paddy Power off 140 before and he is now 154 now so it will be a tough ask, but it looks like he is improving again. He took me by surprise at Chepstow as I thought he might blow up and finish fourth or fifth, but he ran on over a trip that was probably a bit too short for him around Chepstow.
If it did become a bog we then might consider the Grade Two at Ascot the following week, but the plan is very much the Paddy Power.
He was very unlucky to bump into Inothewayurthinkin in the Kim Muir, but he ran an absolute cracker to finish second there. He came out of that and then ran well in the Scottish Grand National to be third on drying ground, which wouldn’t have totally suited him as he likes cut in the ground. He didn’t really jump as well in the Scottish National as they kind of took him off his feet early on and it took him a while to get into a rhythm, but when he did he stayed on well to finish third.
This season we are gearing him around the Welsh Grand National. He is going to have a prep run over hurdles at the end of November then go for the Welsh Grand National. Conditions should be far better for him. He needs to improve to get in the Grand National, but if he wins a Welsh Grand National then he could possibly look at it.
He won two juvenile hurdles last year at Haydock and then a valuable race at Musselburgh. We will start him off over two miles this season, but he is definitely going to want further. We were quietly away with him last season and there is more to come from him off his mark of 113. He will be ready to go in the middle of November as he has just started faster work now.
It didn’t really happen for him last season, but he had terrible ulcers, and he had a kissing spine. We have given him kissing spine surgery and treated his ulcers. He should be developing into a proper horse and I would have thought we stay over hurdles for the moment. Two miles on soft ground is his sort of thing and a race like the Imperial Cup in the second half of the season is probably where we are going to try and head. If we have got everything sorted out, which we feel we have done, there should be a good handicap in him.
She is unbeaten in bumpers after winning at Stratford before following up under a penalty at Hexham. She is only a four year-old, but she is a really smart filly. She is ready to go novice hurdling now. From what we have seen she appears to be quite an exciting prospect as she has done everything right so far. We will try and keep her and La Marquise apart for as long as we can.
He had a great season winning two novice hurdles and being placed in two Grade Two races at Cheltenham and Kempton. He is a bonny jumper and we should have fun with him. He has got to improve to be running in those better novice chases, but there is no reason why he can’t develop into a graded horse. He won very nicely on his debut over fences at Kempton. I thought he was very impressive with his jumping and he showed a good attitude. That was over two and a quarter miles and I think we will probably drop him back down to two miles and find another novice handicap chase for him. He is just one of those horses that gets out there and does the job. He is an honest individual.
He won a bumper at Tipperary in May for Emmet Mullins and he was subsequently picked up by the Value Racing Club. He is by No Risk At All and it is very hard to be buying these kind of horses. He could be a very nice novice hurdler as he jumps very well. If you win a bumper in Ireland then usually they have a fair level of ability.
He has come over from France where he won a bumper and he was second twice over hurdles. We got him midway through last season, but we wanted to keep him as a novice for this season so we didn’t run him.
We just got him into our routine and rhythm over here ready for novice hurdling this season. He has settled into life well here. I thought he jumped well on his first start for us at Uttoxeter. He had a bit of a blow jumping the last and probably just needed it slightly. He will improve from that and want softer ground.
He is bred to go further than two and a half miles, but he is pretty versatile it is just a case of finding the right race for him.
He won a point-to-point on his only start for Johnny Collins at Castlelands where he showed plenty of speed that day.
He was quite light and skinny when we got him, but he has done very well. He is an honest individual that stays well and likes soft ground.
We probably rode him with a bit too much patience to be honest with you down at Newton Abbot. He just lacked a gear turning in, but he carried on galloping through the line.
He is certainly good enough to win a bumper on a more galloping track on deep ground through the winter. However, it was a nice debut and he will improve for it.
She won very nicely at Stratford first time out last season, but we hadn’t done a huge amount of work with her when she won and she did that purely out of talent. Rather foolishly on my part I felt that was the way to train her and I didn’t do much with her leading into the Listed race at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day and she was clueless. We got her home, and we changed things around a bit, and she won under a penalty at Chepstow and then went up to Aintree and finished third in the Grade Two up there.
She is a very talented filly and she jumps super. She is very exciting for novice hurdling and the dream at this stage is Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. She achieved more than You Wear It Well in her bumper year and we know where she went to.
So many things went wrong on her hurdles debut at Ludlow, but she somehow still managed to get up and win which is the sign of a good horse. The first three hurdles came up very quick, but then she got in a nice rhythm jumping down the back straight. She nearly got taken out at three out, so for her to get back up and win showed great determination. There is the two miles two furlong Listed race at Haydock at Christmas time and I’ve got that in mind as a target, but I think we need to get a bit more experience into her before we look at a race like that.
He beat Electric Mason, who went to run in the Grade Two Aintree bumper, when winning down at Fontwell. He finished second first time out over hurdles at Stratford, but he was a little bit green, and backwards. He was a little bit more immature than I I thought he might be, but it was only his third ever run. He will be a nice novice hurdler. He does want a trip, but he will win over two miles before we do that.
LOR EXPRESS
He is by It’s Gino, who is the same sire as Datsalrightgino. He is a brother to Passing Well, who has won three times for us. He is a lovely big individual that had a year’s pre-training last year and hopefully he can do well this season.
He has come to us from the Flat in France and for a three year-old he is quite big. He was rated 81 on the flat in France and the plan is to go juvenile hurdling with him this year. He has a nice profile and plenty of racing experience behind him so if all goes well he could develop into a horse for the Fred Winter or Triumph Hurdle.
We trained her dam Midnight Silver to win six races for us. She finished second first time out in a bumper at Chepstow and she will go novice hurdling this season. The run at Chepstow was a nice run, but it probably wasn’t the best of races. If she is as tough as her mum then we will be alright. She is a real honest individual and that toughness should help her out a lot.
He was fourth in the Challow Hurdle the season before last and he won a novice chase last season, but unfortunately he picked up a niggly injury. He is off a nice mark to step into open handicaps this season. He should stay well, but we will start him off back over two and a half miles. He should get three miles, and he jumps great, so there should be plenty of mileage in him. I’d like to hope if he does stay, and if he enjoys going up in trip then he could creep in the bottom of an Ultima or the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival.
It didn’t go to plan to start with for us as he came back lame after his first run over hurdles. He was a bit buzzy and keen on his second start over hurdles and he just needed to learn how to settle. His third time he then got carried out, but he has now won his last two races. He didn’t have a huge amount of luck early on, but up until his last run he was putting it together. The race on Sunday at Wincanton didn’t really suit him. He got in behind horses and he didn’t jump very well. I think the hurly burly of a conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle was too much for him. He is certainly good enough to win off his mark. I think we will see what the weather does now as it might turn out that we put him away for a spring campaign as he is not one for running in the depths of winter.
He was definitely one to improve for the switch to fences last season as he won two of his five starts over them and was placed on a further two occasions. I was really pleased with his comeback win at Kempton when we stepped him back up to three miles again as he had clearly improved again. He won his last race off a mark of 112, but he has always looked like a big, strong type that would just improve with age. Looking further ahead he could be one we send back to Kempton later in the season for the Coral Trophy if he keeps on improving.
She is by Beaumec de Houelle, who is the same sire as La Marquise, and we picked her up from the Auctav Sales. We sent her over to Ireland where she had a year of pre-training.
She would be a bit sharper than La Marquise, who would have more size and substance. From what we have seen at home she has a similar level of ability.
It was a cracking effort on her debut at Stratford in the same race that La Marquise won last year. I think we simply bumped into one. "She is certainly well capable of winning a race like that before moving forwards.
He only had the one win last season around Fakenham, but he was also a good second at Ascot in a conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle. He had some very hard races, including at Leicester where it was a slog in a bog and he just came up short that day. After that race we struggled to get him back. We have freshened him up and given him a wind operation. He is a tough individual. The family all lack a bit of size, but they are all hardy and honest. He was very good winning on his debut over fences as I thought he was accurate and assured at his fences. We will just be mindful of going to the bigger tracks with him just because he lacks that bit of size and scope. We will keep him on better ground and the plan is to just find another novice handicap chase for him.
The wheels kind of fell off in the Welsh National last season as up until then he was looking very progressive. I probably went to the Welsh National a year too soon and I think his inexperience counted against him in a race of that nature. He is back in and we will start him off over hurdles, but maybe a race like the Eider Chase might be for him. We just need to get his confidence back and get him going again. He likes it when the mud is flying.
We got him off the flat last season and he won over hurdles for us at Wetherby and he was only 10 lengths behind Sir Gino at Kempton. He finished third on his novice chase debut at Uttoxeter which was an okay run, but hopefully he can cash in on using the four year old allowance he receives. If you can get the right horse to jump a fence at that age, which we think he is, then it is very handy, and he should be able to more than make his mark.
He won two of his three bumpers last season. He started off over hurdles at Hexham and finished second. The front two pulled a long way clear of the third horse and he will improve for that effort as he is a lovely young horse. I don’t quite know how he got beaten but there we go. He is certainly good enough to win his maiden next time out as I think we just bumped into one at Hexham. Something like the Grade Two Winter Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown Park could be a nice target if all goes well.
It was always going to be a little bit tougher after her novice season when winning a Grade Two at Sandown and the Grade Two at the Cheltenham Festival. She started off winning the Listed race at Wetherby, which was fantastic, but from there on every race we were going to go for was either cancelled, abandoned or rescheduled and we could never get into a real rhythm.
Having said that she was still placed in Grade Ones and Twos so it wasn’t a disappointing season, but it was slightly frustrating she couldn’t go on after winning that Listed race. We are going to go novice chasing this season which is massively exciting. She is proper big and scopey and I’m looking forward to seeing her over fences. She is going to start off at Bangor in that Listed race in the middle of November. She will start off there and see which way we go. Her best form is over two miles, even though she has won over two and a half miles. She is a proper scopey individual that is coming into the prime of her life.
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