Private gets his Eye in late to land Queensland Guineas

Brenton Avdulla said he’d rarely landed a winner on a horse travelling worse than Private Eye before he netted the Group 2 Queensland Guineas at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Private Eye was under hard riding before the turn, as betting rival Apache Chase cruised along in front.

But once Avdulla was able to balance the Joe Pride trained gelding up, he quickly ate into Apache Chase ‘s margin and overhauled him.

“I was under hard riding before the corner and I thought it was going to be a waste of time to be honest,” Avdulla said.

“I just gave him his chance and got him to the outside and once I put him under a fair bit of pressure I felt him respond.

“They were two different horses; the one before the corner I was going to run last and once I got him to the outside he finally did his job and did it well.”

Pride is uncertain where he might head next with Private Eye, but indicated long term the Golden Eagle was a race he was looking at closely.

“I’m not going to say the world is his oyster, but he has plenty of options going forward,” Pride said.

“I haven’t ruled out the Stradbroke at all if I could get in there. I certainly think he could be a good type for the Golden Eagle.”