Peter Snowden's conservative approach to the debut of Paceman has nothing to do with his opinion of the colt.

He concedes the two-year-old has natural talent. He was happy with his barrier trial. He will even stretch to a concession that the horse is "going quite nicely".

But Snowden refuses to add any fuel to the fire that has sparked bookmakers into installing the youngster as a $1.70 favourite for Saturday's Cellarbrations Appin Plate at Rosehill.

"You don't make a call until they race, in my mind," Snowden said.

"I've found over the years with Darley, you don't know what you've got until they actually race."

Snowden's restraint isn't mirrored by punters and that's not surprising given the dominance of Paceman's barrier trial win at Randwick last month.

While clearly inexperienced, the youngster showed a sizzling turn of foot when Josh Parr slipped him some rein, careering away to win his heat by almost seven lengths in smart time.

Snowden confirmed Paceman had shown similar ability at home.

But he is still wary.

"He's a nice horse but he's still very new. He's got a lot to learn but he has got ability," Snowden said.

"Probably the only thing he does do is he does want to do things in a hurry.

"We'll ride the race how it's run. If something wants to go hard we'll take the opportunity to sit off. If nothing wants to go hard he'll probably lead."

Paceman is one of three Rosehill runners for Snowden while Rose Of Choice will chase a stakes win for the stable at Sandown.