Joseph Pride, a trainer well-regarded for his ability to enhance the performance of established horses, is now managing the talented gelding Poison Chalice.
The six-year-old son of Savabeel was previously trained by Paul Preusker in Horsham. His last run saw him finish tenth in the Listed Ballarat Cup over 2000 metres.
While Poison Chalice has not yet won beyond benchmark level, he has consistently performed admirably in Group company, coming closest when he secured second place in the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes (1800m) during the Spring of 2024.
Pride is eager to get a better gauge on the new stable addition as it prepares to contest the Listed Civic Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick this Saturday.
“Poison Chalice raced down in Melbourne, he’s a nice Savabeel horse,” Pride said. “He’s going well, he trialled up, there’s improvement to come but he should run well.”
“He’s raced up over a mile to 2000 metres, we’ll kick him off at seven furlongs and see how he goes. Lovely horse, hasn’t changed ownership, they’ve got a really nice horse.”
Poison Chalice has undertaken two trials in preparation for this campaign. He displayed marked improvement in his most recent Warwick Farm hitout, racing on speed and finishing second over 791m, with Pride noting that the horse has acclimatised well to Sydney.
“Getting them on the Sydney leg can be a bit overstated,” Pride commented. “When they come to you at the start of the preparation, he’s been in work for the last ten to twelve weeks and he’s done it all on the Sydney leg, and he seems to have adjusted well.”
The field will also include the front-running Cool Jakey, who recently achieved a strong victory at benchmark 94 level. Pride commented that Cool Jakey is in excellent condition for another attempt at Listed success.
With the Civic Stakes on the horizon, placing a wager through betting sites could be on the cards for many enthusiasts.