TRAINER Joe Pride has declared his hand early in the battle for tomorrow's Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, after yesterday claiming the likely task of having to lead the race from start to finish would not halt the winning run of Rain Affair, reports The Age. It says: Pride said Rain Affair was certain to go forward from his inside barrier and was likely to be asked to lead throughout over the exacting 1200-metre course. ''He's a pretty special horse and that [leading] won't be a problem for h
TRAINER Joe Pride has declared his hand early in the battle for tomorrow's Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, after yesterday claiming the likely task of having to lead the race from start to finish would not halt the winning run of Rain Affair, reports The Age.
It says: Pride said Rain Affair was certain to go forward from his inside barrier and was likely to be asked to lead throughout over the exacting 1200-metre course. ''He's a pretty special horse and that [leading] won't be a problem for him,'' he said.
''He's come off a tough 1400-metre run so he's rock-hard fit and he's a horse of exceptional speed. I don't travel horses too often but when I do, I do because there's things in my favour, and that's still what I believe. I've always thought that it [straight track] would be perfect for him.''
The four-year-old is rightfully Sydney's pin-up horse with 10 wins from 11 starts, including an undefeated run of nine races coming into his Victorian debut tomorrow.
Pride believes the inside barrier may work in his horse's advantage. ''The majority of people you speak to think it's not a great thing, hence he's out to a longer price,'' he said. ''But I've always thought this was the right race for him and maybe even more so now because I think they'll leave him alone from barrier one...There's some [early speed] pressure in the race, but it's nowhere near him. I think you've got to go out to [barrier] eight to find a horse like Buffering that has anywhere near enough pace to go with my horse.''