2 weeks ago
2
By Craig Kerry
February 19, 2026 — 5.00pm
Joe Pride is adamant Attica will “wake up Saturday” and show his true colours as the Warwick Farm trainer looks excitedly to potential autumn targets with the Godolphin colt.
Attica, a son of champion Lonhro and five-time group 2 winning mare Savatiano, came to Pride as an unraced three-year-old then won three of his four starts, including the Dulcify Stakes (1600m) and group 1 Spring Champion (2000m).
Attica shades Shangri La Boy in the Spring Champion Stakes.Credit: Getty Images
He resumes on Saturday in the group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill in a clash with Caulfield Guineas winner Autumn Boy ($3.80 TAB), luckless Magic Millions Guineas runner-up Ninja ($3.40), the exciting Napoleonic ($3.60) and other top-level three-year-olds.
Attica, which is yet to face the leading trio in betting, was $13 after drawing the outside gate in a nine-horse field and having three lacklustre trials without blinkers, which go back on. The hit-outs have raised questions about how he can come back, but Pride was far from concerned.
“He’s a big, casual, laid-back horse, so I wouldn’t expect him to trial as sharp as some. I have horses who are good trialers and horses who are just pass marks, and he’s always been that,” Pride said.
“He’s never impressed at the trials. Then watch his races, he looks like a different horse.
“He’ll wake up Saturday, don’t worry about that. He’s come back, he’s in great shape and he’s a bloody good horse.”
The first-up run will tell Pride more about where to head with Attica over the autumn. He is likely to go next to the group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) in two weeks but beyond that was unknown.
“He’s nominated for a Doncaster [1600m], for a Rosehill Guineas [2000m], the Queen Elizabeth [2000m] and the Derby [2400m],” he said.
“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.”
Most Viewed in Sport
Loading
