Ceolwulf begins build up with polytrack trial
Master trainer Joe Pride isn’t locked into Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) attempting a three-peat in the Gr.1 A$5 million King Charles III Stakes on Everest Day at Royal Randwick during the Sydney spring carnival.
Pride admitted he is preparing Ceolwulf for the King Charles on October 17 but is wary of super mares, Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi.
"The plan is to have him ready to go for the King Charles,'' Pride told Racing And Sports. "But there are a lot of different scenarios.
"If the two good mares (Autumn Glow, Sheza Alibi) are absolutely airborne and beating him in the lead-ups, then I would not be averse to going straight to the Cox Plate a week later.
"But I'm keeping an open mind, he could even run in both races.''
Autumn Glow's connections have stated they won't start the three-time Group One winner at 2000m again after the first loss of her career when third in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April, thus ruling out a Group 1 $6 million Cox Plate campaign.
There is also a very real possibility Autumn Glow could go to the Gr.1 A$20 million The TAB Everest on the same day as the King Charles.
Sheza Alibi, winner of the Randwick Guineas and Doncaster Mile last autumn, is also likely to miss the Cox Plate picture as she is being set for the Gr.1 A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) at Royal Randwick on October 31.
In early TAB Fixed Odds betting for the King Charles, Autumn Glow is the $1.80 favourite ahead of Sheza Alibi at $3.50 with Ceolwulf on the third line of betting alongside Pride Of Jenni at $8.
Ceolwulf, winner of four Group One races including successive King Charles III Stakes (2024, 2025) and nearly A$11 million prizemoney, took the first steps along the comeback trail when he "stretched his legs" finishing unplaced in a 740m barrier trial at Warwick Farm on Tuesday.
Pride prematurely ended Ceolwulf's autumn campaign earlier this year after the rising six-year-old ran unplaced in successive starts and was found to have some minor hoof issues.
But Pride is adamant Ceolwulf can return to his Group One-winning form this spring before explaining why his stable star contested a Polytrack trial rather than compete against the Group and Listed horses in the course proper trial.
"Barrier trials are a lot more genuine than they used to be and Ceolwulf's such a competitive, enthusiastic horse, I didn't want him chasing too hard against those sharp sprinters,'' Pride said.
"He will have two more serious trials, one at Warwick Farm on August 4 and then eight days before the Winx Stakes (August 22) there is a set of trials at Randwick.
"He still is a long way off his goals this spring, it will be a slow and steady build-up for him.'' - NZ Racing Desk
King Pedro elevated as Sober sidelined
King Pedro’s (NZ) (Eminent) emergence as a Melbourne Cup smokey this spring has come at the right time for OTI Racing following confirmation their Irish-based stayer Sober is injured and won’t be making the trip to Melbourne this spring.
Rated a $26 chance for the $10 million Melbourne Cup in November, the 2025 Royal Ascot winner Sober will spend a deal of time on the sidelines after injuring a tendon for trainer Willie Mullins.
While that news is surely sobering for the ownership group, it is a different matter with King Pedro, who has recently followed a convincing Stayers Cup (2400m) win at Rosehill in June with an eye-catching victory last week in the Listed Grafton Cup (2350m).
OTI Racing director Terry Henderson had already compared the Kiwi-bred stayer to his 1995 Melbourne Cup winner Doriemus and Henderson was further buoyed by the post-race reports on the horse from his jockey, the three-time Melbourne Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy.
"He’s got versatility and good ring craft and Kerrin (McEvoy) got off and wanted to lock himself in for the spring, so that’s a promising sign," Henderson said.
"He’ll go to the (Gr.1) Metropolitan (October 4). He’s just having a couple of weeks off, but the Metrop will be his chance to take the next step and get himself into the Melbourne Cup.
"He’s an old-fashioned Kiwi stayer, a bit like Doriemus. He had a relatively easy four-year-old year and he’s ready to produce now.
"I think he’s very exciting. That race (Grafton Cup) didn’t rate all that highly compared to his win in Sydney, but he did a great job to score."’
Henderson reported the group’s G1 SA Derby winner Wigmore (NZ) (Sweynesse) won’t be tried at the elite level in the spring with races like the Melbourne Cup being considered for him in 2027.
"Unless they are exceptional, I think they struggle when they go from three to four so we’ll tread a little warily," Henderson said. "He’ll have a four-race prep leading into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on final day (Flemington) as his spring target.
"He’s still a fine horse and he’s certainly not furnished out yet."
Henderson also confirmed the 2025 Queensland Derby winner Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree) was back in work after a long lay-off due to tendon troubles. - Racing.com
From death's door to jumps triumph
In mid-March, the Patrick and Michelle Payne-trained Split (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) almost lost his life.
The gelding was on the South West Horse Transport truck that was en route to the Camperdown jumpouts, before it rolled off a bend in Bamganie, near Meredith, approximately 100 kilometres west of Melbourne.
Tragically, the truck’s driver, Peter Butler, was killed, as were three unraced horses from the Payne stable.
Miraculously, Split which began his career with trainer Peter Didham in New Zealand, survived the accident, and on Sunday at Coleraine, the six-year-old won a 3300-metre BM115 Hurdle, much to the delight of his owners Jo Rathbone and Simon Harrison, who watched on proudly from New Zealand.
“It was great to see him come back like that. For him to come back like that is pretty amazing,” Rathbone told Racing.com.
“He did have a few cuts, he had a decent one across his wither and on one of his front legs, as well.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know he would make this jumps season; that’s a bonus in itself. You never know how greatly something like that impacts a horse; it might appear to be all good, but there might be something else that you can’t quite see, internal stuff.
“It’s incredible that he's back and racing so soon; it’s a credit to Patrick and his team and the vets and everyone who’s played a part.”
Rathbone recounted the moment the news of the terrible incident in March broke.
“We were very lucky, as we still had a horse, whereas others weren’t so lucky, and the driver tragically passed away,” Rathbone said.
“There was nothing I could do, but I knew he was in good hands and they were doing everything they could for him. They were great, they sent through updates when they could.”
Rathbone also shared a lovely story involving one of the accident’s first responders.
“I got forwarded a message that Patrick and his team had been sent by one of the first responders who had actually gotten Split and led him down to one of the neighbours. He saw him have that first run on the flat at Casterton (on July 5) when he ran third and he was thrilled. You’ve got to take your hat off to people like that, it’s amazing what they do,” Rathbone said.
“It’s nice that someone like that remembered the horse and has been following him.” - Racing.com
Joshua Smith
Joshua Smith
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