Joe Pride had six horses in action across the country on Saturday and came away with two wins, three seconds and a third, including the quinella in the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap at Randwick.
Weeping Woman ($2.60 fav) wore down barn mate Coal Crusher ($6) in the Sydney sprint to take home bragging rights, 35 minutes after Estadio Mestalla ($9.50) beat all but Yorkshire ($3.90 fav) in the $2 million The Ingham (1600m).
Earlier in the day, The Black Cloud ($3.30 fav) triumphed in the Listed Bribie Handicap (1000m) at Eagle Farm, while Private Eye ($2.20 fav) came agonisingly close to giving Pride a three-state, feature race treble when he was pipped in the final bound in The Supernova (1400m) at Pakenham.
Pride’s final runner, Tennessir ($7.50) finished third at Newcastle.
With the trainer in Victoria to watch Private Eye, and his son Brave forced to stay at home after injuring his ankle on Saturday morning, Orla Pearl represented the stable at Randwick and said they were thrilled to see Weeping Woman land a breakthrough black type win.
“It was just so good to see her put it all together and really stepping up this preparation,” Pearl said.
Earlier on the program, the Ciaron Maher-trained Future History ($5) posted his third win in Australia and first in Sydney when he fought on doggedly in the Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) to hold Asterix ($7) at bay by a long head.
The eight-year-old pulled out all stops to break a 13-month hiatus from the winner’s list, jockey Adam Hyeronimus saying that being able to dictate from the front was key.
“He’s a bit quirky and takes a bit of riding, but we controlled the race and that’s what won the race for us,” Hyeronimus said.
Future History won the 2023 The Bart Cummings (2520m) and contested that year’s Melbourne Cup (3200m) but hadn’t tasted success since taking out a Group race at Moonee Valley in October last year.
“He has done such a good job. He ran in a Melbourne Cup a couple of years ago and it’s great for a good group of owners,” Maher’s assistant Johann Gerard-Dubord said.
“They had to be patient to get another win, but it was worth it.”
