Pride in another Winter carnival raid

SEVENTEEN years to the day since he put himself on the map as a trainer, Joe Pride will return to Doomben plotting another Winter Carnival raid with a close relation of a former winner of the state’s biggest race.

Should the in-form galloper Taksu win Saturday’s Group 3 BRC Sprint (1350m) for Pride, it will truly be a story that has a bit of everything.

It was on the same day and track nearly two decades ago that Pride earned national attention on May 21, 2005 when the classy Red Oog delivered him a maiden Group 1 victory by taking out the Doomben 10,000.

He has since forged a reputation as one of Sydney’s top trainers with 14 Group 1s and counting and has made Brisbane a happy hunting ground.

Taksu, who coincidently wears red and black colours similar to that of Red Oog, will get the chance to add to the stable’s good Queensland fortunes in Saturday’s ‘win-andyou’re-in’ Stradbroke Handicap qualifier.

“He is a lovely, big horse,” Pride said of Taksu. I know he has had 26 starts but this is only my second prep with him and I think he has gone to another level this time in.

“His past four starts, he hasn’t finished worse than second and has run terrific.

“He is a nice horse, a big strong horse with a great pedigree on the mare’s side being a half to Srikandi.”

Srikandi famously provided Ciaron Maher with an early career highlight when the sprinting mare scored in the 2015 edition of the Stradbroke Handicap.

She and Taksu are the products of the broodmare Raining with Pride’s sprinter set to get the chance to follow in his older sister’s footsteps if he can win on Saturday.

“It wasn’t a race (the Stradbroke) I had in my mind for him but he deserves his chance in a race like Saturday,” Pride, who also has Private Eye on a Stradbroke path, said.