Warwick Farm trainer Joseph Pride will be looking to close out the year on a high at Randwick tomorrow.
It's a phrase that often gets bandied around the racing press room, 'the Joe Pride stable is flying at the moment', and with four winners (25%) and a further five placings (56%) from his past 16 runners that statement is being backed up once again.
Known for his exploits with top liners Eduardo and Private Eye, Pride is one of the most consistent trainers on the Sydney circuit, despite having less numbers than some of his counterparts.
He takes three live chances to Royal Randwick tomorrow, and will be looking to add to the well-stacked win column.
Joseph Pride saddles up the former Kiwi in Hokkaido in the Benchmark 72 over 1300m, and will use this first local effort as a bit of a fact finding mission to learn more about the son of Japanese stallion Satono Aladdin. The three-year-old shed the maiden tag at Otaki on debut, and then produced two thereabouts efforts before heading across the ditch.
"He looks a really nice horse, he's only had three starts in New Zealand so I don't know a lot about him," Pride said.
"I just gave him a little tick over trial last week and Nash (Rawiller) was really happy with him.
"I'm happy to take him to the races tomorrow and find out where we are at with him.
"I'm sure he will make the grade here, it's a just a matter of finding out what his strengths and weaknesses are."
Later in the card Pride has another former New Zealander in Mach Schnell engaged in the Maroubra Mile, who is on the quick back-up following a strong win over the 1800m at Randwick last weekend. The Zacinto progeny gets in extremely well at the weights with a postage stamp impost of 50.5kg and Pride doesn't believe the drop back in trip will be a disadvantage.
"I don't think distance variations around that trip are all that significant," Pride said.
"It was more the right grade of race for him to get in with a light weight utilising the claim. He's pretty well placed by the looks of it."
Apprentice hoop Ellen Hennessy will take the steer and Pride sees the combination as a good fit. The metropolitan 3kg claimer is fresh on the back of a riding double at the Sapphire Coast on Tuesday.
"She rides here at Warwick Farm, I thought I'd give her an opportunity on him," Pride said.
"He's a pretty straight forward horse, it shouldn't be a problem for her."
Perhaps Pride's best chance on the ten-race card is his Star Witness gelding Dehorned Unicorn, who ran into a pretty smart one in the form of I Am Me last time out. Despite the four-year-old being beaten just over a length, Pride is of the opinion that he should've finished closer.
"Zac (Lloyd) kind of misjudged it the other day I thought. When he jumped well he should've taken advantage of that and I thought we just gave away our opportunity with the really light weight," Pride lamented.
"He's significantly up in weight here, but significantly down in grade and he's going really well."
