Trainer Mick Price has confirmed that Ready For Victory will return to the races in the 2015 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on August 29 after he recorded a third place finish in a barrier trial at Cranbourne yesterday morning.
Ready For Victory will start his 2015 Spring Racing Carnival campaign in the McNeil Stakes. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell
Ready For Victory contested the ninth barrier trial over 800 metres at Cranbourne and he was settled in the middle of the field by jockey Damien Oliver in the early stages, while Secret Obsession took up the running from Courtly.
Oliver took Ready For Victory to the extreme outside of the field coming around the bend and he took a while to build up in the straight, but he ran through the line strongly to finish second behind Robbie Laing-trained Kentucky Flyer and Secret Obsession.
Price told Racing.com that he was happy with the performance of Ready For Victory in the barrier trial and he confirmed that the More Than Ready colt would resume in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) before returning to racing at the highest level in the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on September 12 and the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 10.
“He’ll run at the end of the month in the McNeil, and I would guess from there that he would be a Golden Rose runner and then he’ll run in a prelude of the Caulfield Guineas,” Price said.
“I reckon the Caulfield Guineas will probably suit him.
“He’s a nice, seasoned three-year-old now but he’s a bigger, stronger horse and he’s going well.”
Ready For Victory was purchased for $240,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and stamped himself as a horse to watch when he stormed home late to win the Listed Festival Of Racing 1000 (1000m) at Flemington on March 7 in impressive fashion.
He did enough to convince Price that he was worthy of a trip to Sydney for the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) and he finished a more than credible fourth behind Vancouver, English and Lake Geneva despite racing erratically in the straight, but he overraced throughout the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on April 6 and he could finish no better than seventh.
Ready For Victory is currently available at 2015 Golden Rose Stakes odds of $17 and is on the ninth line of betting behind Vancouver ($3.20), Pride Of Dubai ($8), Exosphere ($13), Mogador ($13), Press Statement ($13), English ($15), Headwater ($15) and Lake Geneva ($15).
