Given his impressive tally of six victories from eight mounts on Headley Grange, it’s no surprise that the gelding’s team is relying on Adam Hyeronimus to extract the maximum in the All Aged Stakes at Randwick.
The five-year-old delivered a pair of strong efforts to kick off his preparation, charging home for fourth behind Joliestar on debut in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m) and repeating his late surge when fifth to Autumn Glow in the George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
That said, his mindset let him down in his latest appearance in the Doncaster Mile (1600m), where he grew agitated and was tough to load prior to running seventh.
Joe Pride, the trainer, anticipates that Hyeronimus’s return will assist in maintaining a good attitude for his runner this Saturday.
“Adam is back on, and Adam seems to get on really well with him and it’s the pre-race antics that cost him,” Pride said.
“Hopefully Adam can make a fair difference for us on Saturday.
“He is capable at his best. In the weight-for-age Canterbury Stakes over 1300 metres he ran a terrific race first-up and it’s a similar set-up here. It’s around that trip and weight-for-age, so I think he can be competitive. But I want to see him do the little things right.”
Pride called Headley Grange “a kid’s pony” in the stable environment but noted the horse occasionally becomes agitated on racedays.
In addition to bringing back Hyeronimus, who boasts six triumphs on the gelding including an Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) win last spring from gate 17, Pride plans to fit pacifiers before the race.
“It’s the little percentages we’re trying to play,” he said.
“They’re pretty simple creatures, horses. You’ve got to continue changing things for them if they’re doing things wrong. If they’re not, don’t change anything.
“It’s not an easy task on Saturay. It’s a hot field. As good an All Aged field as I can remember seeing, to be honest.”
Headley Grange has secured barrier 14, the widest in the All Aged Stakes (1400m), and Pride foresees him pushing ahead to sit midfield early.
Pride’s view of it as an outstanding edition is backed by the lineup where Headley Grange and Angel Capital stand as the sole non-Group 1 winners, with recent champions Jimmysstar, Magic Time and Giga Kick all returning for Saturday’s clash.
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