Trainer Joe Pride is not afraid to travel his horses to where he feels they can win, and this was once again on display on Saturday with 5yo Shamus Award mare The Black Cloud having just her second start away from home, charging late to win the $160,000 Listed BRC Bribie Handicap (1000m) at Eagle Farm.
Having built an extremely fruitful relation with Jamie Walter of Proven Thoroughbreds, The Black Cloud is another prime example of yearlings purchased for a relatively small investment, who have gone on to rep the rewards of patience and well-timed racing campaigns.
A narrow second last start in the $300,000 Group 3 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange, Pride sent his mare north where she started the favourite in an attempt to win some further black type for connections.
From barrier two in the 12-horse field, jockey Daniel Moor took the mare forward, but with plenty of pace coming from the outside, she settled on the rail behind the leading pack.
With Ready Steady eventually securing the lead out wide while Wanda Rox maintained a forward position closer to the inside rail, favoured runner Golden Boom was stuck out wide with his 60kg impost.
With the runs starting to come in the final 100m, it appeared anyone’s race as Metalart got through along the rail before The Black Cloud drove between runners late to get her head in front, holding off the late charge of Matthew Smith’s Way To The Stars who was one of the last turning for home before rocketing down the oustide.
Recording his first stakes winner from his riding stint in Queensland, Moor had a plan to be positive in the run.
“It was a busy race, but it always shaped up like it was going to be a busy race,” Moor said.
“The pressure just intensified and kept coming.
“I was really worried about that, I said that to the owners before the race that I wanted to be positive because if we got too negative from the barrier we would be out the back.
“It nearly sort of happened.
“A couple of horses that haven’t got the stamina to be there at the end of 1000m were there in front of us at one stage.
“It wasn’t ideal but my horse is a nice horse, she is very progressive and once she got the split it was all over.”
Just a length and a quarter separated the first seven across the line with The Black Cloud’s victory taking her overall record to five wins and six second placed efforts from 16 starts with earnings of $537,150.
Purchased for just $100,000 the draft of Golden Grove at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by Proven Thoroughbreds and Pride Racing, the G & C Pastoral Co-bred The Black Cloud is the first winner (and stakes winner) from two to the races out of the four-time-winning Krupt mare Containment.
Containment has an unraced 2yo gelding by Impending named Spokesperson in the stable of Matthew Smith, while the went back to Impending once again, producing a filly, and this season she foaled a full sister to The Black Cloud in early November.
The victory of The Black Cloud gave the Rosemont Stud based Shamus Award (Snitzel) his 30th stakes winner, which is headed by six individual Group 1 winners.
