Joe Pride has trained six metropolitan winners this month and they have all shared something in common.
Four of them led throughout, including last weekend’s Listed Civic Stakes victor Taksu, while the other two camped on the pace.
It is a racing pattern Pride deliberately encourages in all his horses and while some, like Group 1 winner Private Eye, prove to be natural backmarkers, he believes many others benefit from being taught to have tactical speed.
“I do have a lot of on-speed horses and I do like to train my horses to get up on speed because you win more races like that,” Pride said.
“If they’re not relaxed it’s a different story because they’re not going to finish off.
“But if they’re relaxed, there is a big advantage to being on speed.”
Last-start winner Titanium Power is a horse that fits that bill.
Leading throughout to score over 1300m at Rosehill a fortnight ago, he will line up over the same course and distance in Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap.
He rises two kilos in weight to 62.5kg but the impost does not concern Pride, who has opted to keep heavyweight jockey Rory Hutchings in the saddle rather than use a claiming apprentice.
Hutchings has ridden Titanium Power to all six of his career wins, including a Warwick Farm success in December when the horse lumped 60kg from a wide gate.
“I ended up winning about three midweeks with him because of his ability to carry weight,” Pride said.
“He’s a huge, big, strong horse and I didn’t want to take Rory off. He’s won all his races on him, so I have left him on with the big weight.
“If he gets beat, it won’t be the weight.”
Pride also saddles up Silent Agenda and new stable acquisition Opacity in the same race.
While Silent Agenda faces a hard task from barrier 15, he is going well and likely to back-up in the South Grafton Cup on Sunday week in a bid to qualify for The Big Dance.
Opacity has been tracking nicely for his stable debut and with a forecast for rain, will appreciate any give in the ground with Pride expecting him to run “a cheeky race”.
