The least experienced of Joe Pride’s four Hall Mark Stakes runners is the most favoured to deliver the trainer a win in the Group Three race.
Craftiness might not have the race smarts of stablemates Rain Affair, Target In Sight and Rock Sturdy but a tremendous winning strike rate has prompted bookmakers to mark him a $5 second pick.
Craftiness
The winner of six of his seven starts, Craftiness steps up to stakes company for the first time in the Hall Mark, a challenge Pride didn’t hesitate to set the horse.
“This is a big test for him but we need to know what he’s capable of,” Pride said.
Betting is dominated by Hawkes Racing’s Our Boy Malachi, another horse with an outstanding will to win.
The speedster has been beaten just twice in 18 starts and is the firm $2.60 top choice.
Pride will also saddle up Target In Sight ($6.50) and Rain Affair ($31), who drops in grade from the Group One TJ Smith Stakes, while Rock Sturdy ($18) makes his return from a suspensory injury which ruled him out of the Epsom Handicap last spring.
While the market has made an assessment of Pride’s quartet, the trainer cannot split them.
“They’re different sorts of horses going in different directions,” he said.
“A bit of luck in running will be important. I wouldn’t want to try to split them.”
