Emerging sprinter Rain Affair will have a barrier trial on Tuesday week as he prepares for his resumption in the Carrington Stakes.
The four-year-old underlined his promise in the winter with a hat-trick of victories, culminating in his first black type success in the Group Three Missile Stakes in August.
He has built an imposing record of seven wins from eight starts with his lone defeat coming at his second run in February.
Trainer Joe Pride makes no bones about his high opinion of Rain Affair who he hopes can develop into his next headline galloper.
“He is a horse on the cusp of being a stable star and a Group One horse,” Pride said.
“Everything is going to plan at this stage.
“He looks good and I’m very hopeful with him.”
Pride said Rain Affair would trial at Warwick Farm on December 13 ahead of his first-up assignment in the Listed Carrington Stakes (1100m) at the same venue on January 2.
While Rain Affair still has it all to prove, stablemate Sacred Choice is Pride’s undisputed stable star.
The winner of the Myer Classic at Flemington during the spring carnival last year, she returned in the autumn to add the Doncaster Mile to her Group One resume.
Her form in Sydney this spring was sound before a hit-and-run raid on Melbourne in which she just failed to claim back-to-back wins in the Myer, finishing second to Hurtle Myrtle.
Pride confirmed Sacred Choice would be given the chance to defend her Doncaster title this autumn in what would be the six-year-old’s final racing campaign.
“It will definitely be her last preparation,” Pride said.
“She will be back in the stable in mid-December and be aimed at the Doncaster and the Doomben Cup.”
The enigmatic Neeson will also return to work in the coming weeks.
The gelding was an explosive winner of the Group Two Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Epsom day after Pride decided to switch him back to sprints.
But he couldn’t reproduce that effort in Melbourne and was down the track in the Salinger Stakes won by Sister Madly.
Neeson has won eight of his 23 starts and Pride hopes he can measure up to Group One level with the TJ Smith in Sydney and Doomben 10,000 in Brisbane his primary aims.
The Warwick Farm trainer also has a handy bunch of youngsters coming through the ranks and he hopes to unleash some of them over the summer.
“I’ve got some two-year-olds I’m pretty pleased with and they will have their first trials on the 13th (of December),” he said.
AAP TURF
