Joe Pride hopes to one day have King’s Secret, a half-brother to two-time Everest placegetter Private Eye, in the reckoning for a slot in the world’s richest race on turf.
asserted
Secret → hop → turf
Until then, Pride would love to have more suitable options in the Sydney spring for second-tier sprinters.
asserted
Pride → love → sprinters
King’s Secret came from well back to slice between runners and narrowly miss a placing in the $1 million Concorde Stakes (1000m) two weeks ago at Randwick when fourth as a $31 chance.
asserted
Secret → come → chance
The listed Canterbury Sprint winner will face another field stacked with Everest hopefuls on Saturday when he contests the $1 million The Shorts (1100m).
asserted
he → list → Shorts
The eye-catching last-start run and a handy draw in four has the five-year-old at $12 in a TAB market topped by likely Everest contenders Headwall ($3.30) and Joliestar ($3.70), and confirmed runner Ninja ($5).
asserted
old → catch → contenders
While many are chasing the Everest, Pride, who won the $20 million race with Think About It in 2023, was looking ahead to the Premiere, Sydney and Gilgai Stakes with King’s Secret.
asserted
who → chase → Secret
And the Warwick Farm trainer hopes there could be more options in Sydney.
uncertain
trainer → hop → Sydney
“He went super last start and he seems to have pulled up really well,” Pride said of King’s Secret.
asserted
Pride → go → Secret
“He’s probably another run away from his peak, but he’s very honest and genuine.
asserted
he → ’ → peak
He doesn’t run a bad race and I expect the same here.”
asserted
I → run → same
As for the Everest, he said: “I would have thought he’s 12 months away from running in those sorts of races.
asserted
he → say → races
“He’s won a listed race and there’s grades to go through.
asserted
He → win → race
We’re here in a $1 million Shorts, but the way they’ve structured Sydney racing now around this time, everything is an Everest lead-up worth $1 million.
asserted
everything → ’re → time
“The Concorde and Shorts used to be lesser races, but now they are $1 million and all the good horses go in them, so I think they need to put on some listed, group 3s or even just good open handicaps for these sort of horses.”
asserted
they → use → horses
Eight-year-old stablemate Mazu ($13), which ran in the Everest last year, resumes in the Shorts and could follow a similar path to King’s Secret, which he edged out in the Hall Mark Stakes.
uncertain
he → run → Stakes
“He knows nothing else but to get up on speed and go, and he’s in good shape,” Pride said.
asserted
Pride → know → shape
The trainer was also happy with fellow veteran Private Eye, which raised concerns when beating only one home in the Tramway Stakes last start after beginning poorly.
asserted
which → raise → Stakes
The winner of $13 million was down to race in the group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) at Randwick, but Pride said the nine-year-old would likely be kept for the Testa Rossa Stakes at Caulfield on Sunday week after drawing wide.
asserted
old → race → week
“He does the same in trials, in this second half of his career, if he doesn’t get up there on speed, he’s not playing.
asserted
he → do → speed
He just doesn’t take part,” he said of the Tramway failure.
asserted
he → take → failure
“I’m not too worried.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
He seemed to bounce out of it well.”
asserted
He → seem → it
Pride will have Tramway winner Headley Grange ($3.90) in the Bill Ritchie, a key lead-up and qualifier for the Epsom Handicap (1600m).
asserted
Pride → have → Handicap
“He’ll probably make his way to the Alan Brown Stakes from here, but I’ll see what [jockey] Adam [Hyeronimus] thinks,” he said.
asserted
he → make → what
“If he thinks he’s better suited to an Epsom, we can possibly go there.”
uncertain
we → think → Epsom
He was also keeping his options open with Ceolwulf ($12), one of four taking on Autumn Glow ($1.15) in the $1 million 7 Stakes (1600m).
asserted
He → keep → Stakes
Pride was tossing up a shot at a third consecutive King Charles III Stakes win with Ceolwulf, this time against Autumn Glow, or a switch to the Cox Plate.
asserted
Pride → toss → Plate
“I’m very happy with the horse, he’ll race in the second half of the field and find the line well,” he said.
asserted
he → ’m → line
Outside the features, Pride has high hopes for Castlejohn ($4), a winner three times in four starts which steps up to Saturday grade in the fourth.
asserted
which → have → fourth
The four-year-old won by three lengths last start at Canterbury when Nash Rawiller took him down the outside fence early before cutting the corner into the lead.
asserted
Rawiller → win → lead
“A bad barrier isn’t a bad barrier for him,” he said.
asserted
he → say → him
“He can play up a bit in the gates and I’m happy for him, if he is a bit slow away, to make up for it afterwards.
asserted
he → play → it
I’d have 16 over one every day of the week with him.
asserted
I → have → him
“He looks very promising.
asserted
He → look → ?
He’s been a bit of a slow maturer, but he’s an exciting horse.”
asserted
he → ’ → maturer
The Aporia
