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By Ray Hickson

At Group 1 level you take any advantage you can get and trainer Joe Pride hopes the combination of a heavy track and ‘trimmer’ Ceolwulf can lead to victory in the $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos).

When the five-year-old kicked off his autumn prep against the likes of Fangirl and Via Sistina in the Apollo Stakes he was, as Pride described, a bit “pretty” but he says that won’t be the case this time around.

After being one of the stars of last spring, with wins in the Epsom Handicap and King Charles III Stakes, plenty was expected of the gelding when he returned and Pride said he’s learned from that campaign.

“He’s a little bit trimmer than when he went to the races first-up last time,’’ Pride said.

“I was battling his weight last preparation which is unusual for a horse like him because he’s a lean, racey, sort of horse.

“He was always a bit heavier than I wanted him in the early runs but he’s not this time.

“I like to see my horses look pretty, as in carrying really nice condition, but it’s not for every horse.

“I’m not saying it was the difference between him winning Group 1s or not, I don’t think it’s that significant, but I’ve come to the realisation that he’s just a racey looking horse and having a heap of weight on him isn’t necessarily going to be of benefit to him.”

Ceolwulf’s lone win in five runs in the autumn came when carrying top weight of 59.5kg on a heavy track in the Neville Sellwood Stakes at 2000m.

Importantly, his only other heavy track exposure was at Randwick in the Australian Derby of 2024 where he was narrowly beaten by Riff Rocket.

So Pride said resuming on a heavy track in the Winx Stakes, on the back of two pleasing trials, holds no fears for him and might just be an edge against the glamour girls of Australian racing.

“It probably is, he definitely handles heavy ground,’’ Pride said.

“Fangirl is none from five on heavy and Via Sistina, they are the measuring sticks, her only average run in Australia was on heavy.

“I’m happy enough to do it and we’ll see what it all means once we get there on Saturday.

“I thought he trialled probably just as good as Private Eye, it’s hard to line up trials but he certainly trialled without any effort.

“I just hope they go ahead, we need to kick these horses off and get them started in their preparation.”

Pride said he’ll make no decisions about Ceolwulf’s path in the spring until after his second-up run in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) in two weeks – that’s the “fork in the road”.

He’s considering staying in Sydney for the 7 Stakes or a reconnaissance mission to Moonee Valley for the Feehan Stakes but stressed a trip south would not rule him out of a King Charles III defence.

“I’ve got two runs to work with to assess where I should be going to next and that’s perfect,’’ he said.

“He made such a massive leap forward in the spring last year and I guess he had to catch up to where his rating was and I think he’s done that physically. I feel like he is ready to go on with it.

“It’s all gone to plan and I’m very pleased with him.”

Godolphin galloper Kerguelen is set to make a belated debut for the Pride stable in the Jersey Day Andrew Wisemantel Handicap (1200m) after his initial kick off was washed out two weeks ago.

Ceolwulf runs second in a Warwick Farm trial on August 8

The gelding hasn’t raced since he was runner-up to King Of Roseau at Rosehill on July 19 and he’s since had a tickover trial this week.

All three of Kerguelen’s wins have come on heavy ground so it’s no surprise his new trainer wants to make some use of that prowess.

“I’ve been dying to run him. Last week I felt like it was getting a bit too far between runs so I gave him a trial,’’ he said.

“He’s a really nice horse and it’ll be interesting to see what sort of heights he can get to. He’s lightly raced enough for him to have a decent amount improvement in him.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting