Miffed by the usually consistent Estadio Mestalla’s two disappointing runs from a spell, Joe Pride made a double-barrelled decision to change gear and tactics and the horse responded with an upset win.
Pride had been at a loss to explain the gelding’s early-campaign form given he had been working well at home, so he opted to mix things up for Saturday’s Listed Winter Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill.
The ploy worked with Estadio Mestalla relishing a leadership role and the addition of blinkers to post a comfortable win.
“He has been very disappointing at his first two runs back and I have honestly been scratching my head because he is a very genuine and very honest horse,” Pride said.
“It’s not like him to be out of the money like that.
“I went a little bit early with the blinkers than what I normally would in a preparation but I felt like I had to do something and make a change.
“It was fantastic. It was good to see him out there rolling along and he looked happy and comfortable and gave a really big kick.”
Sneaking under the guard of punters, Estadio Mestalla started at $61 and held Robusto ($13) at bay by 1-1/2 lengths with the winner’s stablemate Accredited ($5.50) third.
While his performance was a sharp turnaround on his recent efforts, Estadio Mestalla had finished runner-up in the Little Dance last spring and Pride said he grew in confidence when he watched the six-year-old going to the starting stalls.
“I have been telling the jockeys, ‘watch him going to the gates because he’ll pull and be a bit ferocious’ and the first two runs back he has gone around like a kid’s pony,” he said.
“Today, he took off a bit on the rider and I thought, ‘this is better’.
“We paid $70,000 for this horse off Chris Waller and he has been a great money-spinner.”
Dylan Gibbons brought up the middle leg of a treble aboard Estadio Mestalla having earlier taken out the Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (2000m) on Good Banter before claiming the final race on Brave One.
He said Pride gave him confidence the horse was capable of bouncing back to his best and Gibbons was also mindful of not letting down Estadio Mestalla’s large group of owners, The Racing League’s (TRL’s) NSW Tycoons syndicate.
“I thought we were going to see a good performance and with a million owners too, I didn’t want to be the most hated man at Rosehill so I had to get him home,” Gibbons said.
TRL representative Terry Kennedy said Estadio Mestalla’s Winter Stakes win was among their most significant to date.
“This horse just got nosed out in the Little Dance but for the NSW Tycoons, this is up there with our biggest wins,” Kennedy said.
“We will try to qualify this horse for the Little Dance again and try to win it this time.”
