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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Joe Pride expects lightly raced mare Weeping Woman to start favourite in her return from a freshen up in the TAB Handicap (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos)

Part of that comment is due to the likelihood of a few scratchings but also because he’s sure punters will recognise she’s another progressive horse with the potential to set a platform for better things via a successful winter campaign.

It’s not unlike the grounding Pride gave the likes of stablemates In Flight, a recent stakes winner, and The Black Cloud last winter.

“She’s a really nice mare, I’ve got a lot of time for her,’’ Pride said.

“I liked her trial the other day. I’m pretty confident she’s a really nice horse in the making and we’ll see her go through the grades now.

“I think the field is going to change a bit, I can see a few of them coming out.

“If my mare runs up to her potential and where she is going to get to, and she will improve with the run, she will be hard to beat. I think she will start favourite.”

Weeping Woman, $5 with TAB on Thursday, has already won four of her 10 starts and went for a break after an easy all the way win at Wyong back on March 19.

Pride said he could have continued her campaign through April but can see the benefit of racing her at this time of year and her easy trial win earlier this week told him he’s made the right move.

“She was a little slow to begin her career but with each prep she’s made substantial improvement,’’ he said.

“I couldn’t see the use in taking a horse getting toward the end of a prep into an autumn carnival.

“So I thought if I gave her a freshen I could get another three or four runs out of her in the late autumn into winter. Here we are and we'll see what she can do.

“She’ll be hard to beat, she’s a nice horse.”

The Warwick Farm trainer is hoping the track can creep into the soft range to give Little Cointreau a better chance to break through in the Ranvet Handicap (1500m).

He said the honest five-year-old’s campaign so far looks disjointed on paper and that’s not been by design.

The gelding resumed at 1200m, went to 1400m within nine days then waited a month and came back to 1300m in his last start third behind Piggyback on his home track.

“He’s had no luck to start his preparation in that I haven’t been able to get continuity with him,’’ he said.

“I’ve been avoiding heavy tracks but I’ve had to run him on some to get some racing into him.

“If it’s only in the soft range you’ll see a better version of him and he’s a Saturday horse every day of the week. The step up to 1500m looks good for him.”

Weeping Woman wins a Warwick Farm trial on May 26

Joe Pride on King’s Secret (race 5): "He just found it a little bit too sharp but being out to 1100m he’s well suited. It’s a lot harder but he’s a pretty handy little horse. He’s only small but he’s got a bit about him. He’ll keep getting better as he gets older just like his brother did."

On Big Red Tequila (race 5): "I thought it was worth a go probably being her last run for the prep. I like it when I put blinkers on first time if they can draw a gate which unfortunately didn’t happen. I thought she was trapped in a really awkward spot throughout that (last run), she’s still a prep or two away. She’s done enough this preparation to suggest to me she’s going to get better with age."

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