Evergreen sprinter Eduardo won’t chase a second Doomben 10,000 crown with trainer Joe Pride deciding to wait for another day rather than start him from an outside gate in the high-pressure race.
An on-speed runner, Eduardo came up with barrier 11 at Wednesday’s draw, directly outside the pacy Overpass while the likes of Prince Of Boom, Weona Smartone and Mazu also like to roll forward.
After studying the final field and draw, Eduardo’s trainer Joe Pride says he will keep the top sprinter at home.
“I don’t worry too much about wide gates with Eduardo because he is so fast, it was more what was inside of him,” Pride said.
“It wasn’t going to be a matter of him just clearing the field and stacking them up. There looked like there was going to be that constant pressure.
“He beat Giga Kick first-up over 1000 and he beat him because of the way the race was run. I went through this race a hundred times and I couldn’t see a scenario where he was going to get any peace whatsoever.
“He deserves better than that. I thought I was setting him up to fail and I didn’t want to do that to him.”
That will still leave Pride represented in Saturday’s Group 1 sprint by Galaxy winner Mariamia, who has also drawn awkwardly in barrier eight.
Pride says luck in the run and a smart ride by Tyler Schiller will be crucial to her prospects.
“It’s an unusual race in there’s so much speed then there’s a heap of horses who, if they don’t get the lead, are going to want that spot just in behind the lead,” Pride said.
“So barriers, I feel, are going to play a really big role in that, but she is going well.”
Mariamia joined Pride’s team 12 months ago, her best result at the time a Group 3 placing, but the trainer’s uncanny knack for getting the best out of tried, older horses has again been evident with the six-year-old.
She broke through for her first black-type win in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) in January before significantly boosting her residual value with her Group 1 Galaxy triumph.
Mariamia is at $21 for the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) with Giga Kick a dominant $1.80 favourite to add the Queensland feature to his All Aged Stakes victory.
Eduardo is now likely to join stablemate and emerging sprint star Think About It in the weight-for-age Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm a fortnight from Saturday.
