Peter and Paul Snowden pair I Am Superman and Exoboom are no certainties for The Gong at Kembla Grange for separate reasons.
Trainers Peter and Paul Snowden have an anxious wait to get I Am Superman and Exoboom to the $1m The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday.
I Am Superman is assured of a start provided the track stays relatively dry while Exoboom is a borderline entry with The Gong certain to have a capacity field of 16 starters.
Talented import I Am Superman has topweight of 59kg and is currently equal second favourite with Aramayo at $7 behind local star Count De Rupee at $2.90.
But trainer Peter Snowden is on weather watch with more rain forecast for later in the week.
“Anything worse than a (soft) seven and he is pulling dead weight – he has no traction, the wheels start spinning with this bloke,’’ Snowden said.
“But give him a decent deck and he is primed to run really well.’’
Snowden said I Am Superman has been improved by two runs from a spell and a solid workout between races at Newcastle’s The Hunter meeting last Saturday has him peaking for The Gong.
With The Gong’s final field and barrier draw announced on Wednesday, the Snowden stable will soon learn if Exoboom has secured a start in the rich Kembla Grange race.
Exoboom disappointed Snowden when he finished well back behind I’m Thunderstruck in the Golden Eagle and the four-year-old is at $26 in latest betting.
“I’m hoping Exoboom gets in the race as I believe he is a better horse than what we saw in the (Golden) Eagle,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the Illawarra Turf Club has announced UFC featherweight world champion Alex Volkanovski will be the club’s special guest at The Gong meeting.
Volkanovski has been given the honour of “banging the gong” to herald the start of Kembla’s richest race.
ITC chief executive Peter deVries said the club was proud to have the world champion fighter attend the day and help the region celebrate the third running of The Gong in front of more than 5000 race fans.
“Alex is a true world champion and we could think of no better person to bang the gong at our $1m raceday,’’ deVries said.
“He did our region proud during Covid winning two world championship UFC fights. It’s that type of mindset and resilience that makes him one of our region’s much-admired champions.’’
Volkanovksi will also sign autographs and pose for photos with race fans between 1-2pm at The Gong meeting.
Originally published as The Gong: Peter Snowden has fingers crossed weather stays fine for I Am Superman