Ready For Victory ready for Golden Rose Stakes

Trainer Mick Price’s smart three year old Ready For Victory is ready to head to Sydney for the Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on September 12.

Ready For Victory will head to Sydney for the Golden Rose Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.

Ready For Victory will head to Sydney for the Golden Rose Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.

Ready For Victory was having his first start as a three year old when an unlucky second to the Peter Moody trained Gold Sympathy in the Group 3 $150,000 H.D.F. McNeil Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield last Saturday.

The More Than Ready colt was held up for a run in the straight from the 300m to the 1500m and also figured in the stewards’ report being for being steadied shortly after the start.

Price said that jockey Mark Zahra claimed that Ready For Victory would have won had he been able to secure a clear run in the straight.

“Mark Zahra said he wished he could have drawn an outside barrier because if he had had a clear run then he thinks he would have won,” Price said after the race.

But the run was very good and Price will now target the Golden Rose Stakes in a fortnight.

“That’s the plan at this stage,” Price said.

The trip to Sydney will be Ready For Victory second venture north after Price took the talented colt as a two year old to Rosehill to run in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill during the 2015 Sydney Autumn Carnival.

The lightly raced Ready For Victory earned a shot at the Golden Slipper after winning on debut down the Flemington straight in the Listed $120,000 Festival Of Racing 1000 (1000m) on March 7.

Ready For Victory then found the Sydney direction of racing a little bit awkward and he ran a mighty race to finish fourth down the middle of the track, less than two lengths from the winner Vancouver.

Price then gave the colt one more run in the Group 1 $1m Inglis Sires (1400m) at Randwick on April 6 and was sent to the paddock after finishing seventh to Pride Of Dubai.

Ready For Victory is well in the betting for the Golden Rose Stakes at $10 with Ladbrokes.com.au.

The Gai Waterhouse trained Vancouver heads the market order at $3 ahead of last Saturday’s Run To The Rose winner Exosphere at $5 and the Chris Waller trained Press Statement at $6.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.