Joe Pride has never regarded himself as a hopeless sentimentalist, but he did confess to a hint of nostalgia after saddling up two winners at Wyong’s first ever stand-alone meeting. In winning with Headley Grange and Bullets High, Joe shared training honours with Bjorn Baker whose double came courtesy of Bonita Queen and Sandpaper. How fitting it was that Pride should play such a prominent role at Saturday’s historic race meeting.
Just under twenty four years ago, the very same racetrack was the scene of Joe’s unforgettable first solo training win. He cheered himself hoarse when a gelding called Ireland scrambled home in an 1100m three year old maiden with Corey Brown in the saddle. As recently as two years ago Corey still held the record as the jockey to ride more winners for his stable than any other. Despite a burning ambition to train in his own right, young Joe may have delayed his move a little bit longer had John Size not received a tempting offer to train in Hong Kong in 2001. He’d been in Size’s employ for four years and was revelling in his role as foreman to the man he regards as the greatest single influence in his training career.
John Size at Rosehill shortly before his departure to Hong Kong in 2001 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“Everything changed when John suddenly gained a massive opportunity with the Hong Kong Jockey Club,” Joe recalled. “Everything happened so quickly. He had to pack up and get over there, while I had to decide whether to give it a go myself or work for somebody else. I think it’s fair to say we both made the right move in hindsight. I was lucky enough to be given a handful of horses to train by John’s old clients and Ireland was one of them. He only won one race before going to northern Queensland but ran many placings and taught me a lot. To this day there’s a smattering of John Size in everything I do with horses. He was a great friend and a hell of a mentor.”
Apart from the significance of having won his first race on the Wyong track, Joe has continued to use the well appointed venue as a “nursery” for many horses coming through the grades in subsequent years. He’s always ensured that his Wyong runners have been horses with reliable barrier manners and natural pace. Joe was chuffed in the spring of 2017 to win the Wyong Cup with nine year old Destiny’s Kiss, a resilient old gelding whose best form came very late in his career. Almost two years later as a rising eleven year old, the iron gelding won the listed Winter Cup at Rosehill. He had only a handful of starts after that before being retired. Joe is also delighted to have trained two winners of the listed Mona Lisa Stakes run on Wyong Cup day. He won the sprint in 2004 with Irongail (Corey Brown) and again in 2019 with Foxy Housewife (Robbie Dolan).
Another feature win at Wyong! Foxy Housewife (Robbie Dolan) on the outside nosed out Laburnum in the 2019 Mona Lisa Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The first leg of Joe’s double on Saturday was provided by improving four year old Headley Grange. The gelding wasn’t as close in the run as the trainer would have liked, but Adam Hyeronimus made the call to let him balance up completely before getting on his way. Mindful of the short Wyong straight, the jockey let loose well before the turn and although forced very wide Headley Grange had the momentum to go on and win handily from Imposant. The son of Exosphere had won a maiden at Grafton before joining the Pride stable. “He’s won another four complemented by four placings, and is another example of the kind of money they can earn by just being honest,” says Joe. “Saturday’s win takes him to more than $235,000 with more to come. He’s the kind of horse who covers exes and gives his owners a lot of enjoyment. He’ll go to a BM 78 over 1400m at Randwick on January 25th and we’ll assess the future after that. He’s very lightly raced with his best days ahead.”
Headley Grange (Adam Hyeronimus) gives Joe Pride the first leg of a double at Wyong on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The trainer was quick to give Alysha Collett due praise after her win on the one paced Bullets High in the 2100m BM88 on Saturday. “I’ve watched her ride a lot and felt she’d suit this horse for whatever reason,” said Joe. “With Nash Rawiller out injured I opted for Alysha and spoke to her at Warwick Farm last Wednesday. I asked her to go home and study the horse’s recent runs. She’d obviously done her homework because she asked me could she go forward and be right on the pace on Saturday, which was exactly what I wanted. She had the horse in full flight as he took the lead at the top of the straight, and he was able to outstay them to the line. He’ll run 2400m on his ear, and deserves a crack at the Listed Australia Day Cup on January 27th. He’ll get a handy weight and Alysha will ride him again.”
Bullets High (Alysha Collett) was airborne at the post in the BM88 at Wyong - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The Wyong double made it six wins in seven days for the Pride stable. At Randwick the previous Saturday Joe had scored with the very promising Accredited who made it three impressive wins on the trot and is looking like a future stakes winner. On Wednesday at Warwick Farm he produced Believe In Angels to win a maiden in good style, while on Friday he landed a two venue double for long time supporters Proven Thoroughbreds. He sent a mare called Ontono all the way to Orange to find the right maiden, while ninety minutes later Elle Hudson scored impressively in a Cl 1 event at Newcastle.
Meanwhile the talented trainer is doing his best to contain his excitement as rising star Ceolwulf approaches the first barrier trial of a preparation which could propel him to dizzy heights. The exciting four year old has been “cuddled” by his trainer from the beginning of a career embracing just fourteen runs. His four wins and five placings have already netted a whopping $4.7 million. He won his maiden at Warwick Farm in August of 2023 but had to wait exactly a year before win number two came up in a BM100 at Rosehill. Sandwiched in between those two wins, were close and impressive seconds to the ill fated Riff Rocket in both the Rosehill Guineas and Australian Derby. One week after the Derby he was unfortunate enough to be in the wake of Pride Of Jenni whose tearaway tactics upset the apple carts of superstars like Via Sistina in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Ceolwulf beat only one home and Joe couldn’t get him into the spelling paddock quickly enough.
He resumed just over three months later and literally cantered around in two soft Warwick Farm barrier trials before resuming with a sixth behind Tom Kitten in the 1400m Spring Preview at Rosehill. Two weeks later he impressively won his BM100 at Rosehill with James McDonald in the saddle, and that was followed by a “tick over” trial at Warwick Farm in which he comfortably accounted for Golden Path. He stepped up to 2000 at his next outing in the Gr 3 Kingston Town Stakes and pleased connections with a strong second to Elyass. Joe surprised many observers when he made the call to switch the gelding back to the 1600m of the Epsom. His judgement was vindicated when Ceolwulf scored a massively impressive win.
Ceolwulf (Chad Schofield) blew the opposition away in last year's Epsom - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Chad Schofield had to accept his fate from a wide gate when it was obvious Ceolwulf was going to be three and four deep for the duration. He was however gifted a beautiful cart along behind Tom Kitten who took him to the top of the rise. Godolphin’s Tom Kitten struck the lead at the 150m mark but Ceolwulf had his measure in a stride. Despite having covered the lion’s share of extra ground, the son of Tavistock savaged the line to record one of the most emphatic Epsom wins in recent history. He backed up brilliantly a fortnight later to exact revenge on Pride Of Jenni in the King Charles 111 Stakes. The paddock beckoned.
Joe Pride was beyond delighted when Ceolwulf walked back into his Warwick Farm stables in early December. “He’s not a bulky, gross sort of a horse so you don’t expect to see an explosion of condition when he spells,” said the trainer. “He’s a real athlete who still looked pretty trim when he came back in and that coat was absolutely gleaming. He’s always had the most magnificent coat. The scales tell the real story. All through last preparation he hovered around 480 kgs. Now with six weeks work under the belt, he gives the impression he’s going to race between 500 and 510 kgs this time around. That’s an increase of 20 kgs. He’s just coming to peak maturity. He’ll have an easy trial either at Warwick Farm on Friday January 16th or at Hawkesbury on Monday 19th, dependent on weather and track conditions.”
Joe was one of very few leading trainers to have a presence at Wyong on Saturday. The majority of his counterparts had been active at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale for most of the week and were in attendance for the commencement of the Magic Millions meeting on Saturday. They had plenty of time to kill when the last seven races were called off following a freak deluge after the running of The Debut. “I’m not recognised as a two year old trainer, and I’m a rare attendee at these early sales,” said the multiple Gr 1 winning trainer. “The last two year old winner I trained was Torun at Hawkesbury about five years ago. That’s been my model ever since I started, and I see no reason to change.”
Ceolwulf squared the account with Pride Of Jenni in the King Charles 111 Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Joe Pride and Hugh Bowman combined to win the 2017 Wyong Cup with evergreen gelding Destiny's Kiss - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)