Joe Pride will delve into his bag of tricks and put blinkers on dual Group One winner Vision And Power for his crucial spring assignment in Saturday's George Main Stakes at Randwick.Pride confirmed the gelding would back up from his fourth to stablemate Miss Marielle in the Hill Stakes and take his place alongside the likes of Racing To Win in Saturday's 1600 metre feature race.He also revealed the shades would almost certainly go back on Vision And Power despite the fact the seven-year-old did
Joe Pride will delve into his bag of tricks and put blinkers on dual Group One winner Vision And Power for his crucial spring assignment in Saturday's George Main Stakes at Randwick.
Pride confirmed the gelding would back up from his fourth to stablemate Miss Marielle in the Hill Stakes and take his place alongside the likes of Racing To Win in Saturday's 1600 metre feature race.
He also revealed the shades would almost certainly go back on Vision And Power despite the fact the seven-year-old did not wear them during his career-best run of form last autumn when he won the Group One double of the George Ryder Stakes and Doncaster Mile.
"The blinkers will probably be back on on Saturday," Pride said.
"He didn't need them last preparation but in the preparation before that he didn't win a race without them on.
"I've been keeping them up my sleeve and I really want to see something dynamic from him on Saturday."
Throughout Vision And Power's current campaign, Pride has maintained the George Main would be the pivotal race in determining whether the seven-year-old earned a trip to Melbourne for the Cox Plate.
He said the seven-day back up would not pose any problems and was encouraged by Vision And Power's Hill Stakes performance.
"It was a slowly run race and he ran home nicely, he was doing his best work at the end," Pride said.
"In the early part of his preparation he looks like an old two-miler and like he's looking for ground.
"But once he gets fit his sharpness comes back and I think that at his next few runs you'll see him race a bit sharper."
No horse has won the George Main Stakes and Cox Plate in the same year since Kingston Town achieved the feat in consecutive years in 1981 and 1982.
Despite that statistic, nine of the 13 George Main entries are also nominated for the Cox Plate including Black Piranha, who was runner-up to Vision And Power in both the George Ryder and Doncaster, and three-year-old Onemorenomore.
Onemorenomore's trainer John Thompson has been given permission to gallop the Champagne Stakes winner between races at Warwick Farm on Tuesday.
Chris Munce, who has been booked for the spring mount on the colt, will partner him in his workout with stablemate, Reginald Allen entry Run For Naara who will be ridden by Peter Robl.
Saturday's Group Two Stan Fox Stakes (1400m) has fallen away after shaping as the race of the Sydney spring carnival just weeks ago.
Star colt Denman, equal favourite with Trusting for the Caulfield Guineas, is one of just five nominations along with dual entries More Than Great and Sister Madly.
Despite the disappointing interest, AJC racing manager Col Tuck said there was little danger of the race being scrapped.
"The club has got the right to pull the pin on the race but being a Group race that is unlikely," Tuck said.
Nominations for the Stan Fox have been extended until Tuesday.