Snow still grappling with his bittersweet Rockhampton Cup night

By Pat McLeod

Several days after victory in the $75,000-to-the-winner TAB Group 3 Rockhampton Cup, Ned Snow is still grappling with the bittersweet events of the night.

His kennel star Shipwreck showed his class, experience and race nous by grabbing a rails run in the straight to edge out It’s A Roo (trained by Tony Zammit) by three-quarters of a length in 29.64 seconds with Bundaberg’s Bro’s Girl (John White) third.

However, as the Cup presentation was held on Friday night, Snow wasn’t in that spotlight. He was in a separate part of the Rockhampton Greyhound Racing Club’s complex caring for another of his dogs, Come On Aussie, who was injured in the Final. 

“It was definitely a bittersweet occasion for me,” Snow reflected. “It was difficult to totally enjoy the win when something like that happens to another of your dogs.

“Whether he will race again, I don’t know. The scans should tell more of the story.”

On Shipwreck’s win, Snow said he was ‘delighted’, ‘very happy’, but ‘not totally surprised’.

“If you look at Shipwreck’s heat win, it was much the same,” he said. “He stuck to the fence and then darted through.

“The win didn't really surprise me. Shipwreck is a top grader and, without being disrespectful, he was against dogs that haven't had the experience or the quality of opposition that he has been racing against.

“So, I was quietly confident and I also thought that Come On Aussie would definitely run a hole.

“It was just disappointing that I wasn't able to enjoy the win because I spent the rest of the night with Come On Aussie and the vet.

“But, it was a great to win with Shipwreck. There is definitely a lot of significance in that Rockhampton win. Being a country person, it certainly means a lot to me.”

The focus now turns to an upcoming busy program at Albion Park, with the early shots in the winter carnival being fired late this month leading through to the state’s first $1 million race, the Group 1 Brisbane Cup on Friday, July 7.

Snow is in no doubt Shipwreck can be a major contender at his come carnival and in a planned Melbourne campaign soon after. And, there is a second agenda to the chaser’s performances through the remainder of 2023.

“That (Rockhampton) win was very good because if he goes on through and performs as well during the winter carnival then that just adds to his value as a stud dog,” he said.

“A couple of people have already asked me if we are going to put him to stud, so whatever we can pick up on the way now is going to be good for this dog.

“I will stick to the plan to go through this carnival and aim for the million dollar race. I just hope that we can get some box draws. Last year we were punished with all outside boxes.

“If all goes well during the winter and he does hold up, then I will head to Melbourne just as I did last year for the big races down there. It just depends on how he holds up during the winter carnival.

“So, potentially an exciting year for this dog.”

Snow said Shipwreck’s win wasn’t the only aspect of Friday night that lifted his spirits.

“After the Final (fellow Ipswich-region trainer) Brent Kline came up to me and offered to take Come On Aussie back with him to our Brisbane vet that night,” he said.

“He knew that I was staying the night in Rockhampton. It was a very generous offer, very generous and was a big help to me so the dog could return straight away.”

Earlier that night, Kline won the Rockhampton Cup Consolation with Isurava, with Tony Zammit’s Go Bing second and Dixie Gambles (Ken Boody) third.

And, finally, Snow had a hearty congratulations for the Rockhampton club for the welcome mat unfurled for the visiting trainers.

“The club secretary (Leonie Gillet) arranged for many of the locals to cook cakes and tarts and they were served free to the visitors,” he said.

“That was a really nice touch and you can’t beat home-made cooking.”

Rockhampton club president Nev Jackson said he was ‘very happy’ with the entire Cup carnival.

“Obviously the massive prize money increase for the Cup (now worth $112,525) proved a major draw card, but the overall carnival was very successful,” Jackson said.

“Nominations were strong through all carnival features. The Cup program has been similar for some time and is getting even more popular.

“The only change anticipated over the next few years is the Cup moving from Group 3 to Group 2.”