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By Ray Hickson

Pride Angles Excelladus Toward ‘Soft’ Targets

He may have won on a good 4 in summer but trainer Joe Pride and jockey Sam Clipperton concurred that Excelladus is a stakes winner in waiting when the tracks turn softer.

The gelding was having his third start for Pride and prevailed in a brutally run EGroup Protective Services Handicap (1400m) after running down a brave Felix Majestic, who engaged in a speed battle with easing favourite Cool Jakey, with Battleton in third.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Pride backed Excelladus up after finishing fourth on the previous Saturday, he dropped 5kg, and Clipperton saved him up to have last call.

“It was a good effort and I think we will see the best of this horse in the winter time,’’ Pride said.

“He’s a new addition to the stable and it’s nice to see him get a win on the board.

“He’s very honest. He’s a typical So You Think, they’re a great breed and I’d say once he gets his toe into the ground at some point he might win a nice race for us.”

Clipperton said he learned a little from a week earlier where Excelladus also had to chase a solid tempo.

“Joe reminded me not to chase too early and try to nurse him around the corner, which I was able to do, and I was always confident the leaders would come back to me,’’ he said.

“He’s a consistent horse and he’s going to appreciate some rain affected ground.”

Pride described the speed set by the leaders, which included his horse Cool Jakey, as "suicidal".

Stewards inquired at length into the tactics employed by jockeys Tyler Schiller on Cool Jakey and Molly Bourke on Felix Majestic after they set a breakneck speed up front, running the 1200m-600m in 31.85, with neither seeming to want to concede.

Schiller described the duel as a “tug of war” for supremacy while Bourke said her instructions were to “lead at all costs”, with the horse's trainer Gary Nickson confirming those instructions to stewards.

Cool Jakey weakened to finish last while Felix Majestic was only run down in the last 50m. The inquiry was adjourned to a date to be fixed to allow stewards to investigate other aspects of the race.

Country Champs More Than Possibly On Ryan’s Radar

Possibly So has earned another shot at the Newhaven Park Country Championships with his upset Highway win at Randwick, trainer Andrew Ryan keen to make up for a disappointing end to his 2023 bid.

Possibly So wins the Highway at Randwick (Pic: Steve Hart)

The gelding earned the right to contest the Final last year with his close second behind Amicus Curiae in the Central Districts Championships (1400m) at Mudgee but a minor injury after his subsequent start ruled him out of the trip to Randwick.

Ryan said the logical path to this year’s Mudgee race, run on February 25, is via the 1200m Preview on his home track of Bathurst 13 days prior.

It will require a freshen to bring the five-year-old back from the 1600m of Saturday’s win, the trainer’s first Highway success.

“We’ve been trying for a while,’’ Ryan said.

“I think the big turnaround has been taking the blinkers off him. Normally when you throw blinkers on it focuses them but he seems to switch on a bit more without them.

“On his day he’s a good galloper.”

The 2024 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final, run at Randwick on April 6, will carry $1 million for the first time.

Trial Crucial To Bodyguard’s Group 1 Path

The path to the major two-year-old races begins for promising colt Bodyguard when he steps out at Tuesday’s Canterbury trials in what will be an important hitout.

Co-trainer Peter Snowden said the youngster, winner of the Maribyrnong Trial at his only start back in October, has been given plenty of time to aim up at the Group 1s in the autumn.

“He’s a lovely horse, he’s come back well, he’s been in work for quite a while and we deliberately missed the Magic Millions to aim up for the Golden Slipper or Blue Diamond path with him,’’ Snowden said.

“We haven’t locked anything in yet, we want to see his first trial on Tuesday.”

Bodyguard is on the third line of betting in TAB’s Golden Slipper market at $13 behind Golden Gift winner Shangri La Express ($7).

There are seven two-year-old trials at Canterbury with Gimcrack Stakes winner Manaal, Breeders’ Plate placegetter Prost, impressive Warwick Farm winner Sovereign Hill and Sunlight’s son Dawn Service among runners in the other heats.

Blanc De Blanc, the talented Michael Freedman-trained filly, makes her first appearance since running sixth in the Golden Slipper in the fourth heat of the morning.

Terra A Firm Favourite With Austin

Trainer Jarrod Austin won’t rush promising mare Terra Mater into stakes grade just yet but it seems that’s where she’s headed in the future after another dominant win at Randwick.

Terra Mater proves too strong again at Randwick (Pic: Steve Hart)

While it was only her fifth win, so she’s still eligible for the Polytrack Provincial Midway Championships the victory all but rules her out with Austin keen to take another smaller step before chasing black type races.

With that series not kicking off until the end of February there’s every chance she will have won another race and be ineligible.

Austin said there were a few nerves going into the race, with top weight and the outside barrier, but those were quickly settled when Nash Rawiller had the four-year-old, a $1750 purchase, parked third and he had the race in his keeping up the rise.

“I was a bit worried about where he was going to get to but he just put her in the box seat. What a ride,’’ he said.

“We came in at the start of the preparation thinking we had a horse that could win a Saturday race if she can improve which she has and she just keeps jumping over the bar.

“It looks like she’s headed to a stakes race but we’ll continue to go through the grades first.”

The win took Terra Mater’s prizemoney to over $275,000 from 11 starts and Austin is confident there’s scope for her to be even better with more time.

Her emergence it timely for Austin’s Warwick Farm team with the recent retirement of stalwart Looks Like Elvis.

“We’ve always had a horse that can come to the city and race on a Saturday, we’re only a small team and she’s come along at a fantastic time,’’ he said.

All the results and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting