On Saturday, King’s Secret heads Pride’s four-pronged attack on race seven, a benchmark 94 handicap (1100m). The four-year-old, which won four times last preparation, resumed with third behind the smart Lyles and Snack Bar over 1100m three weeks ago at 78 level carrying 60.5kg. He has just 52.5kg on Saturday.
“King’s Secret is perfectly set up for this race,” Pride said of the $2.50 (TAB) favourite. “He’s a really nice horse and probably just needed that run first up.”
Pride also has wet-track specialist Cool Jakey ($26) and Storm The Ramparts ($15) resuming. Appin Girl ($13) is second up after a fourth on debut for the stable.
“Cool Jakey might go to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions yet,” Pride said.
“Storm The Ramparts might go to the Gold Coast as well, but he’ll run well. And the one that’s under the radar a little bit is Appin Girl. I thought her run first up was good. She had to give them a lot of weight. I think she’ll run well.”
Meanwhile, Pride said last week’s listed Razor Sharp winner Weeping Woman had gone for a brief spell before a return to target the Wenona Girl Quality, Birthday Card Stakes and Sapphire Stakes in the autumn.
He said The Black Cloud, a winner at Eagle Farm on Saturday, and Private Eye, runner-up in the Supernova, had also gone for a short break. Estadio Mestalla will race in the Summer Cup at Randwick on Boxing Day, while Coal Crusher will rest before a probable shot at the Expressway Stakes.
Murray eyes another 2YO upset over high-flyers with Mr Peasant
Paul Murray says Mr Peasant is not as smart as his Inglis Nursery winner Where’s The Circus, the bargain buy which caused a boilover in the $400,000 race last week. But the Kembla Grange trainer is also not ruling out another surprise from his stable in a two-year-old race at Randwick on Saturday.
Where’s The Circus wins the Inglis Nursery at Randwick last Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
Murray and $1250 online purchase Where’s The Circus were the story of the day at Randwick last Saturday after the $51 chance led throughout on debut to beat a field of high-priced talent from heavyweight operations.
The veteran trainer said the filly was among “a last crack” of two-year-old buys to revive his stable, which was down to 15 in work. Recent losses included another bargain buy success, Welcometobarbados, going to the broodmare barn.
This week, Mr Peasant, backed from $101 into $41, will debut for Murray in the 2YO plate (1000m) to open the program. The home-bred Sandbar colt finished well for second in his only trial, at Kembla, but faces Gimcrack Stakes winner Shiki ($1.55) from the powerful Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott yard on Saturday. She is the only runner with race experience.
“It would be enormous,” Murray said of causing back-to-back upsets.
“[Where’s The Circus] is more of a natural jump-and-run horse. He jumps and runs a bit too, but she’s a lot smarter than him at this stage.
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“He does go all right, but the one of Gai’s goes pretty good by the looks of it.
“Off his times, and his last sectionals, he’s going to be right up there. It’s just a big thing for the babies, how they handle it. She just took everything in her stride the other day, it was like she’d been there before, and we just hope he does the same.”
Murray trained Mr Peasant’s dam, Miss Scorcher, was given the colt to train by the owners, who were keen to have a crack in town. Jean Van Overmeire, who rode Where’s The Circus, will be aboard.
“I was going to hold him back and run him Sunday week at Canberra in the Clan O’Sullivan, but the owner said just nominate him this week and see what happens, and they only got eight, so he wants to go there,” Murray said.
The field was down to seven runners on Thursday with the scratching of Kris Lees-trained Spice Trail. As for Where’s The Circus, Murray said the $2 million Inglis Millennium on February 7 at Randwick was on the radar.
His partner, Michelle Ritchie, bought the filly in September. “She’s in the paddock, but Michelle is just having a look at her and monitoring her here at the farm,” he said.
“She says she’s done very well and she will probably come back into work Monday week.
“We are going to nominate her for the Millennium, and there’s also the Lonhro Plate the same day, and we’ll see what happens. She’s really pulled up enormous, like she didn’t even have a run.”
