Joe Pride will break new ground when he takes a team of 10 horses to Rosehill, the most significant number of runners he can recall having at a metropolitan meeting.
“I reckon it’s the biggest team I’ve had in on a Saturday, I’ve got ten acceptors,” Pride said.
“That’s only one race for Chris (Waller) but maybe a few races for little battlers like me.”
While Pride won’t be trackside at Rosehill – he will be at Eagle Farm to saddle up star sprinter Private Eye in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) – he will be keeping a close watch on the Sydney meeting.
Two of his runners, Coal Crusher and Brutality, will be on trial for winter trips to Brisbane when they clash in the Kerrie Borger Handicap (1400m) and he can make cases for both.
Coal Crusher usually improves deeper into his preparation and Pride expects the frontrunner to prove hard to get past with the benefit of three runs under his belt.
“He is a horse who takes a fair bit of racing to get to his peak. He has often put in his best performances at his fifth, sixth, seventh runs of each prep which is a bit unusual,” Pride said.
“He’s a very tough horse, he cops a lot racing and dropping back to a benchmark 100 from a Group Three race is perfect.”
Backmarker Brutality is looking for his first win since the 2021 Villiers Stakes and while his racing pattern means he needs a solid tempo and luck in the run, he did hit the line well when a last-start sixth to Tamerlane at Randwick.
“He likes wet ground and there’s meant to be some rain going into Saturday,” Pride said.
“He likes Rosehill too and he gets his blinkers back on, he’s got a bit going for him as well.”
If Coal Crusher performs well, he is likely to head to Brisbane for the Group 3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben on May 20 while Brutality can also book his spot on Pride’s winter carnival team with a competitive showing.
Coal Crusher is the more favoured of the pair at $5 with Brutality a $17 chance behind $2.70 favourite Democracy Manifest.
