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“He’s had four starts, none of us know too much about him. We know he’s a good horse in the making, but at what distance?
“I’m hoping he’s going to be a mile-2000 max because there’s more money in that, and as a stallion, that’s the zone. But if he ends up grinding away and a stayer in the Derby, that’s not such a bad thing either. I wouldn’t mind winning that, but commercially, it’s better if he’s sharper, and I think he is.”
Pride also hopes to get a distance guide on another of Godolphin’s progeny of Lonhro, Kerguelen, which won at 1200m on heavy ground and at 1400m on good going in the spring. The five-year-old returns in the 1100m benchmark 94 to finish the card. Pride said Kerguelen could find his way into better races over the carnival and push on to Brisbane winter features.
“He’s one of my favourite Godolphin horses,” he said.
Pride, meanwhile, hoped Ceolwulf’s drama this week will lead to changes in assessing potential bleeds.
Last Saturday Ceolwulf had blood in both nostrils after the Apollo Stakes, a find which would typically constitute a bleeding attacking and activate a three-month ban from racing. Pride, though, immediately requested an endoscopic exam, which showed no signs of a pulmonary hemorrhage. Stewards ordered more tests, which led to a clearance on Wednesday.
Pride believed a scope should be on course, as a starting point, at all city meetings.
“When a horse has a bleed, they can investigate further, because a lot of people now are going to go, ‘did my horse actually bleed?’,” he said.
“And there’s no use taking them home and scoping them because they won’t believe you then. It has to be done there and then on course.”
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