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By Ray Hickson

Jockey Glyn Schofield says the key to riding a front runner is knowing your horse’s strengths and when it comes to Taksu he’ll be taking no prisoners as he chases successive stakes wins at Randwick on Saturday.

Jockey Glyn Schofield (Pic: Steve Hart).

The Joe Pride-trained sprinter has won three of his six starts this preparation and rebounded from a shock failure in Brisbane for an all the way win the Civic Stakes two weeks ago.

Schofield is no stranger to riding a front-running type – who could forget Hay List’s deeds a decade ago – and he’s added Taksu to his list of success stories for the Pride stable having ridden stablemate Coal Crusher to a string of wins in the past couple of months.

And, of course, he had that great association with Pride’s warhorse Ball Of Muscle.

“Some horses that lead like to do it off a slow tempo and sprint for home,’’ Schofield said.

“Others like to beat the others into submission. It’s about getting to know your horse, there’s not one style that suits front runners.

“Taksu likes to run along and make the others chase him.”

The pair will be out to repeat their Civic Stakes heroics in the Listed $160,000 Furphy Winter Stakes (1400m), where Taksu was $2.60 favourite on Wednesday.

There’s an extra ace up Schofield’s sleeve this time around with the return to a wet track very much playing in the six-year-old’s favour - he was a runaway winner on a heavy 10 at Randwick prior to his BRC Sprint defeat.

He said the wet track could negate the 2.5kg rise for his Civic Stakes win.

“It’s nice to get on these horses who make their own luck on wet ground,’’ Schofield said.

“He has a penalty for winning the other day which brings those that were in the race that were just behind him a bit closer to him. But if he does bring some extra form with wet ground that might level it out in his favour.

“A few of them I’ve been riding recently have ticked an extra box and won on dry ground but he’s back on wet ground on Saturday which won’t affect him at all.”

The fact Taksu was able to win on a good track, having not managed that feat in seven previous attempts, speaks to how much he’s enjoying his racing and that was a query Schofield had going into his last start.

“Prior to the race I asked Joe what he thought about that and he said he didn’t handle his trip up to Brisbane that well and that he thinks he’ll handle a dry track and was spot on,’’ he said.

“That was his best performance in the best grade of race and was off the back of an indifferent run but it just shows he’s still in great form.

“You’d probably say he’s better on wet ground but he’s obviously adept on both.”

Taksu wins at Randwick on June 25

Former Victorian Inn Keeper isn’t a noted front-runner, he has led on occasion, but he is an established wet tracker so Schofield is interested to see what he produces in the Bowermans Handicap (1200m).

The rising nine-year-old was sent to the Pride stable to take advantage of the wet tracks but when he made his debut in the Bob Charley AO Stakes a month ago he struck a good surface and finished at the tail.

“He’s a bit long in the tooth but his run two back behind Franky Pinot was good,’’ Schofield said.

“He relishes some wet ground and he’s probably been looking out the window thinking this is what he loves.”

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