Trainer Joe Pride’s first instinct was to spell Eduardo after his deflating Everest performance but the horse has convinced him to push on into the spring.
Eduardo In Bid For Everest Redemption
Joe Pride is still smarting from Eduardo‘s Everest disaster but thankfully the horse appears to be recovering more quickly than his trainer.
Pride was adamant Eduardo was a genuine chance in the $15 million race but the sprinter turned in his worst performance for the stable after uncharacteristically scorching the turf in front.
To rub salt into the wound, the two horses he split at his previous start, Classique Legend and Bivouac, finished one-two in The Everest.
“It was shattering. It was like being dropped at school assembly on the loud ‘mic’,” Pride said.
Eduardo beat one rival home and Pride took him back to Warwick Farm thinking his spring was over.
But to his surprise, Eduardo has done nothing but thrive, prompting Pride to come back for another bite of the cherry in Saturday’s $1 million Yes Yes Yes Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill.
“I’ve got to say, originally I was looking for a reason to send him out,” Pride said.
“I wanted to send him out because I wanted the pain of that race to end but I just never found a reason to.
“It’s not a matter of us just chasing more big bucks with the horse.
“I believe the horse is OK but I won’t know until I put him under race pressure.”
Nash Rawiller rode rival Behemoth in The Everest but reunites with Eduardo at Rosehill, a track where the seven-year-old is unbeaten.
The horse also has an unblemished record on rain-affected ground and should relish the expected heavy conditions.
If he can bounce back, it will go some way towards easing Pride’s Everest disappointment.
“He is four from four on the wet and he’s never been beaten at Rosehill,” Pride said.
“If I’m still saying that about him on Saturday night, we’ve done a big job.”