Trainer Joe Pride is set to unleash a powerful team at Randwick, featuring four Group 1 winners ready to compete. Leading the charge is the accomplished weight-for-age performer Ceolwulf.
The dual King Charles III Stakes victor is slated to run in Saturday’s Chelmsford Stakes (1600m). Meanwhile, Headley Grange and Private Eye are scheduled to face off in the Tramway Stakes (1400m).
Attica, who claimed the Spring Champion Stakes, has been entered for both the Chelmsford and the Tramway.
Headley Grange has recently joined the Group 1 winners’ circle following its victory in the Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm in May. With a strong record of three wins from five first-up starts, Pride anticipates a successful campaign kick-off for Headley Grange.
However, the horse will encounter formidable opposition from stablemate Private Eye, who is returning to Sydney after securing a respectable Group 2 placing at Caulfield in his initial preparation. Attica, who finished second to the in-form Althoff when resuming at Rosehill last month, could also be a factor.
“Headley Grange goes particularly well fresh, so he’ll run very well,” Pride stated.
“Attica and Private Eye have the runs under the belt. It’s a shame to clash those three horses but it’s a set weights and penalties race and it fits in well with what I’ve got in mind for them later on.”
Pride is maintaining flexibility regarding Headley Grange’s spring itinerary, acknowledging that the horse’s preferred racing distances align with those of star mares Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi.
However, with seven victories recorded on rain-affected tracks, the trainer is optimistic this could be the key for the six-year-old to perform at the elite level once more.
“Where does he fit in with all these good mares around?” Pride pondered.
“He’s a very competitive horse himself, and the best version of him is when he can get on a wet track. If we can get one of those at some point of the carnival he’ll be very hard to beat.”
In its second preparation under Pride, Attica is being aimed at the Epsom Handicap. Pride expressed satisfaction with the horse’s return, particularly given that Attica conceded seven kilograms to the winner and that Althoff has since secured another victory.
“He hit the big time quickly because he won a Group One at his first ‘prep’ and that makes a horse difficult to place,” Pride explained.
“You haven’t had that chance to develop them over starts, which is what I typically do with horses. He’s been fast-tracked into running against the better horses.
“He’s a very good horse himself and I just think it will take him a prep or two to work it all out, but he’s going to be a nice, lightweight Epsom chance.”
These four prominent contenders will be part of Pride’s seven-strong contingent at Randwick. Private Eye’s half-brother, King’s Secret, is set to be another notable runner for the stable in the Concorde Stakes (1000m).
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