The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr team had high expectations for Space Rider after his stylish first-up success at Moonee Valley.
But the colt’s second-up showing left the stable disappointed, as he weakened badly to finish near the tail of the field in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) on September 6.
On Saturday, the stable will step him up in distance for the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield in an attempt to reignite his campaign.
Price noted that the performance will be crucial in deciding if the colt continues on towards the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) or is freshened for shorter assignments.
“He is coming off a poor run where I don’t have a reason for his poor run,” Price said.
“He worked good on Saturday morning and I don’t want to say he’s fighting for his manhood, but they’ve got to be genuine, don’t they?
“We’ll try him at 1400 metres. He’s going well in trackwork, but if he doesn’t fire at 1400 metres we won’t be going towards the Guineas, and we might have to freshen him up and try something else.
“I just thought that run the other day at The Valley, it was the run of a colt who was close to their top in the first half of the race, and Michael Dee said the alarm bells were ringing at the 600 metres, which isn’t good.”
Blake Shinn will take over as Space Rider’s third jockey in as many starts.
Stablemate Planet Red will also contest the Prelude as he chases a Caulfield Guineas start. After an impressive first-up win at Sandown on August 13, he followed up with a closing fourth behind Rosberg at The Valley.
“He’s going good, and his Valley run was good,” Price said.
“Mark Zahra was happy, we were happy, the horse is going well.
“He’s an immature three-year-old but so are a lot of them. He’ll be suited over 1400 metres and he will be again over the mile.
“His sire was a champion miler and that will be him if he holds his body weight, but the Caulfield Guineas will be hard because you then get the Golden Rose form coming down.”
Punters looking to support either Space Rider or Planet Red in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude can find competitive odds via Australia’s top betting sites.
