Private Eye Warwick Farm trial: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Trainer Joe Pride's rising eight-year-old, already the winner of $11.9 million prizemoney, is contesting an 800m heat against seven rivals.
Pride has deliberately held Private Eye back this autumn after the gelding raced deep into the spring and early summer last year.
Private Eye contested his third successive The Everest last spring, finishing sixth to Bella Nipotina – he ran second to Giga Kick in 2022 and third to stablemate Think About It in 2023 – before winning the Group 3 Festival Stakes and then finishing fourth in Robusto's Group 2 The Ingham in December.
But Pride said the evergreen sprinter-miler was coming up well ahead of a Brisbane carnival campaign.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
'Private Eye is going super,'' Pride said.
'He has been going from carnival to carnival for so long now and he finally missed a carnival during the autumn.
'But you wouldn't believe it, this was the only dry autumn we have had in Sydney for the last five of six years.
'He did race until mid-December last year so he needed a break and he is coming along really well.''
• Better than Black Caviar? Shane Dye's big call on The Everest favourite Ka Ying Rising
The Warwick Farm-based trainer said he plans to give Private Eye two barrier trials before a scheduled return to racing in the Group 1 $1 million Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on May 31 and then possibly the Group 1 $3 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at the same track two weeks later.
Pride has nominated six horses for the Hawkesbury stand-alone meeting on Saturday including Winx's half-sister City Of Lights for the Group 3 $250,000 Hawkesbury Crown (1300m).
The Pride stable has Dragonstone, In Flight and Testator Silens entered for the Listed $200,000 Hawkesbury Rush (1100m) and Cool Jakey and Excelladus will line up in the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1400m).
• Richard Callander's best futures bets for Qld winter, Sydney and Melbourne spring
The Hawkesbury Race Club has taken a bumper 212 nominations for the 10-race program which marks the 20th anniversary since the first Hawkesbury stand-alone race day.
Trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman have entered Punch Lane for the Group 3 $250,000 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) after the gelding's brilliant win at Royal Randwick last Saturday.
Punch Lane has been rated at $6 in early TAB Fixed Odds betting for the Cup behind only Tavi Time at $3.50 and Matcha Latte at $4.50.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
6 hours ago
- The Australian
Trainer Gary Colvin saddles up Pride Of Jezza at Narrandera
Gary Colvin-trained blue blood Pride Of Jezza will be 'racing for fun' if he can make it back-to-back wins when he heads to Narrandera on the last day of the 2024/25 season. The son of Pride Of Dubai's current earnings of $38,755 are just shy of his $40,000 purchase price at the 2023 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale. Bred by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Pride Of Jezza's grandam, Piavonic, won nine races but is best remembered for her upset win in the 2001 Manikato Stakes in which she rolled Sunline and Falvelon. Pride Of Jezza, who will turn four on Friday, turned in a barnstorming win of his own last start when coming from well back to claim his 1400m Maiden at Wagga by a widening two-length margin. His mission on Thursday is the Macarthur Real Estate Agency Class 1 & Maiden Plate (1600m). • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'There's something about him,'' Country Championship Final-winning trainer Colvin said. 'He won really easily last week. He came from last and did what I had been expecting him to do for a while. 'He just went past them and the jockey just eased him down going past the post, so he should get the mile all right.' The prospect of a wet track ought not trouble resuming stablemate Nic's Hero whose record on Heavy is two wins and five placings from nine runs. It's a trait shared by, and likely passed on, by his 'damsire Nothin' Leica Dane, whose solitary appearance on a Heavy was his splitting of Doriemus and Vintage Crop in the Melbourne Cup, three days after beating Octagonal in the Victoria Derby. 'I am very interested to see how he goes because he's had a couple of jump-outs,'' says Colvin. 'He's no mug, you've just got to place him right. I hope he's placed right on Thursday.' Colvin is likely to be represented by three of his string in the last race at Narrandera on Thursday, namely Philadelphia Storm, Kerma Art and Newyork Missile. 'Philadelphia Storm loves it wet,'' the trainer said. 'He's an on and off horse, you've just got to place him right and hope he does well. 'Kerma Art ran well last time too on the wet. 'The way Newyork Missile is going at the moment, he was very strong last week and a bit unlucky, I think he'd probably be the pick of the three of them.'
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trainer Gary Colvin saddles up Pride Of Jezza at Narrandera on Thursday
Gary Colvin-trained blue blood Pride Of Jezza will be 'racing for fun' if he can make it back-to-back wins when he heads to Narrandera on the last day of the 2024/25 season. The son of Pride Of Dubai's current earnings of $38,755 are just shy of his $40,000 purchase price at the 2023 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale. Bred by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Pride Of Jezza 's grandam, Piavonic, won nine races but is best remembered for her upset win in the 2001 Manikato Stakes in which she rolled Sunline and Falvelon. Pride Of Jezza, who will turn four on Friday, turned in a barnstorming win of his own last start when coming from well back to claim his 1400m Maiden at Wagga by a widening two-length margin. His mission on Thursday is the . 'There's something about him,'' Country Championship Final-winning trainer Colvin said. 'He won really easily last week. He came from last and did what I had been expecting him to do for a while. 'He just went past them and the jockey just eased him down going past the post, so he should get the mile all right.' The prospect of a wet track ought not trouble resuming stablemate Nic's Hero whose record on Heavy is two wins and five placings from nine runs. It's a trait shared by, and likely passed on, by his 'damsire Nothin' Leica Dane, whose solitary appearance on a Heavy was his splitting of Doriemus and Vintage Crop in the Melbourne Cup, three days after beating Octagonal in the Victoria Derby. Nic's Hero from the clouds @mtcwagga! â˜�ï¸� A gun steer from Hannah Williams for trainer Gary Colvin! — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 8, 2022 'I am very interested to see how he goes because he's had a couple of jump-outs,'' says Colvin. 'He's no mug, you've just got to place him right. I hope he's placed right on Thursday.' Colvin is likely to be represented by three of his string in the last race at Narrandera on Thursday, namely Philadelphia Storm, Kerma Art and Newyork Missile. 'Philadelphia Storm loves it wet,'' the trainer said. 'He's an on and off horse, you've just got to place him right and hope he does well. 'Kerma Art ran well last time too on the wet. 'The way Newyork Missile is going at the moment, he was very strong last week and a bit unlucky, I think he'd probably be the pick of the three of them.'
The Australian
2 days ago
- The Australian
Jockey Martin Harley keen to resume Cool Archie partnership
A rejuvenated Martin Harley is hoping that gun colt Cool Archie can put him on the map in the same way that mighty mare Winx defined the career of fellow jockey Hugh Bowman. Irish hoop Harley returned to Brisbane on Saturday night after a much-needed holiday back home where he celebrated his epic Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m) victory on Cool Archie at Eagle Farm last month with family and friends. Of course, Harley doesn't expect the Chris and Corey Munce-trained colt to win a world-record 33 consecutive races like the legendary Winx, but he knows that a quality horse like Cool Archie comes along once in a blue moon. Winx had six different riders during her illustrious career that netted more than $26m in prizemoney before her retirement in April 2019, but she will forever be associated with Bowman and champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Harley's JJ Atkins victory – which broke a 10-year drought since his last Group 1 – was just reward for his hard work, dedication and persistence after overcoming a potentially career-threatening broken neck suffered in a sickening mid-week race fall in 2023. 'The real exciting thing about having a serious injury two years ago to even being not sure if I'd ride again and then for him to do what he did and put me back on the Group 1 map, in a way he certainly has changed my life in different avenues,' Harley said. 'A lot of jockeys can win if they get the right animal but when you stumble across a horse like that, it could be real life-changing moving forward. 'Look at the Winx story regarding Hugh Bowman. And I'm not saying it'll be like that but he could be an Everest horse and (owner) Max Whitby obviously has a slot. 'There could be serious potential going forward so I'll keep my fingers crossed and we'll take it from there. To live the dream like that would be unbelievable.' • Beriman's appeal for concussion protocols to be strengthened Whitby has declared that Cool Archie should be a shoo-in for Australian Two Year Old of the Year honours during a gala ceremony in Brisbane on August 31. 'I would definitely agree and not just because I've been riding him,' Harley said. 'For a horse to go from a maiden to a Group 1 winner in the space of two months - over all different distances and kinds of tracks - he has conquered more than any other two-year-old in Australia this year.' The father-and-son Munce partnership has said that Cool Archie would be spelled for the spring and set for next autumn's $4m Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick. It comes after a gruelling winter campaign in which the colt embarked on an incredible five-race winning streak in all conditions. Martin Harley steers Cool Archie home in the Group 1 JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography • Rutledge's 'omen' win on The Irish written in the stars While Cool Archie is resting, a recharged Harley will be coming down from cloud nine to reset for the 2025-26 racing season in Brisbane which starts on Friday. Looking at the bigger picture, the affable Irishman hopes to travel interstate this spring carnival for a few feature races after proving he can handle the pressure of riding in majors. 'Sydney and Melbourne are tough, there are a lot of good jockeys there, but I'll be putting my hand up for a few rides down south if I can get them,' he said. 'You can get brought back to earth pretty quickly in this game but we showed them we can score at the top level and can get the job done in high-pressure races. 'But I'm definitely not getting too far ahead of myself. I had five Group 1 winners that came pretty quick and then it took another 10 years to crack it for my other one (in the JJ Atkins).' Jockey Martin Harley. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography • 'This isn't a novelty': Female hoops set up for success In the meantime, Harley can look back at that memorable day on June 14 when his dream of finally winning a Group 1 in Australia became reality. 'I went into the jockeys' room that day and I can honestly tell you, there wasn't one jockey who begrudged me the win,' he said. 'They were that happy for me and that made me even more proud.'
