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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Joe Pride has done everything he can to ensure talented sprinter Dehorned Unicorn has the best chance to reproduce his sizzling first-up performance when he heads to Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos)

It’s often said when a horse records a peak fresh they can regress second-up but Pride moved to offset that possibility by spacing the four-year-old’s first and second runs.

Dehorned Unicorn clocked 32.44 (Punter’s Intelligence) for his last 600m in scoring a fast-finishing win at Rosehill three weeks ago and Pride said he’ll be a fitter horse for the ATC Tree Planting For Queen’s Jubilee Handicap (1200m).

“I’ve given him the three weeks to get over it,’’ Pride said.

“He’s been a horse that has trained on into preps, he’s a gross horse and he had nice improvement going into the run and everyone noted that in the yard.

“I would think he is in for improvement but he needs to, he’s going to an 88, and down in the weights I think he is a huge chance.”

Pride’s use of apprentice Zac Lloyd’s 2kg claim means the gelding will carry just 51.5kg, a 4.5kg drop on first-up, and will be in receipt of 6.5kg from race favourite I Am Me.

It’s a rival the Warwick Farm trainer is wary of but a return to good tracks after a patchy winter campaign is bringing out the best in him.

“He’s a nice horse who was plagued by wet track earlier this year, along with a lot of other horses,’’ he said.

“He was struggling on them, he had one run at Warwick Farm on a half decent track and won that.

“This preparation he trialled up really well and resumed with a bit of a bang at Rosehill. I thought it was an excellent win.

“He’s got some opposition there, that filly looks pretty promising of Maher’s but he‘s a promising horse in his own right and gets in well at the weights.”

Lekvarte is another horse appreciating the firmer footing of the past couple of months as she returned from a knee operation with an eye-catching placing at Kensington earlier this month.

The mare steps out to a more suitable trip in the Yes Yes Yes First Yearlings Handicap (1400m).

“She’s always been a promising mare, she didn’t like the wet tracks in the autumn but I thought she raced honestly,’’ he said.

“I liked her run first-up, it’s a hard race though. She’s a really nice mare we haven’t seen the best of yet.”

Pride is adamant front-running galloper Coal Crusher didn’t run out the 1500m when unplaced in last month’s Festival Stakes so is expecting him to be prominent back in class and distance in the Ranvet Handicap (1400m).

Dehorned Unicorn wins at Rosehill on November 26

“I’m going to say it wasn’t the class of the race, more the distance,’’ Pride said of Coal Crusher.

“That was always going to be the question mark and 1400m at Randwick is going to be more suitable. He has that pattern of his, rolls up on speed, he’s carried 60kg a few times to win so it’s not a problem to him. He’ll be very hard to beat."

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting