In-form sprinter Tiger Tees will be chasing his third straight win when he contests the 2014 Tramway Stakes and trainer Joe Pride admits it is hard to knock the tough gelding heading into the Group 2 event this weekend.
Tiger Tees was too strong for a classy field in the 2014 Warwick Stakes at Royal Randwick a fortnight ago. Photo by: Steve Hart
Tiger Tees started his 2014 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with a narrow win in the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on August 9 before he defeated a strong field on a heavy track in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on August 23.
Pride said after Tiger Tees’ win in the Warwick Stakes that he would continue to take it one race at a time with the Dubawi gelding and he elected to include the seven-year-old in the Tramway Stakes field after weather reports suggested that the Royal Randwick track will be still be rain affected on Saturday.
“I am really pleased with him,” Pride told Racing Ahead.
“He has made really great progression between all three of his runs this time in and he worked in super order on Tuesday morning on the course proper.
“I am just really happy with him, his frame of mind at the moment is spot on and he really wants to be a part of it.”
Jockey Glyn Schofield was able to dictate the pace on Tiger Tees in the Warwick Stakes and Pride is confident that replacement jockey Corey Brown will be able to do the same on the front-runner in the Tramway Stakes.
Pride believes that there is nothing to suggest Tiger Tees will be unable to replicate his Warwick Stakes performance and he is confident that the Group 1 winner can make it a hat trick of wins this weekend.
“I can’t see a lot of pressure in the race,” Pride said.
“We roll along quick enough that I don’t think that anything would want to go with us and I see it, for a Tramway, as a race without a lot of pressure in it.
“He just seems to be in the zone, he is racing in career best form and he gets another wet track on Saturday.
“It is hard to knock him.”
Tiger Tees is currently available at 2014 Tramway Stakes odds of $5.50; with Chris Waller-trained Weary backed into $3.80 and the clear favourite in the betting market with Ladbrokes Australia.
