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By Ray Hickson

It’s staggering to think Private Eye has only Group 1 win against his name given how consistent he’s been at the top level for four years and counting.

Joe Pride (Pic: Steve Hart)

To stay at the highest level for so long isn't easy and whether the eight-year-old wins another Group 1 doesn’t concern trainer Joe Pride and the gelding’s owners, of course they’d love to.

The trainer said he’s in bonus round territory and aiming to maximise his returns.

Private Eye will be having his 48th start and chasing his 15th win when he runs in the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Randwick on Saturday looking to add to his $12.6 million in earnings.

Pride said he’s approached the last 12 months differently, since he contested the corresponding race last year, and it’s resulted in him winning three of his past seven starts.

“He’s run in the last three Everests. He’s got plenty of prizemoney, he’s going to retire with a record amount of prizemoney so I’ve been looking at how can we get more wins on the board,’’ Pride said.

“We’ve been travelling him around, Brisbane, Melbourne, just to find the right kinds of races for him.

“He’s just well suited in that level below but I think he’s still good enough to compete at the top level.”

The 2021 Epsom Handicap is Private Eye’s lone Group 1 win. But he proved in the Stradbroke Handicap, running third, Pride’s estimation of where he stands correct.

After each of his Everest runs he’s lined up in the Russell Balding, winning the race in 2022 before running second to Bella Nipotina in 2023 and fifth behind the same mare last year.

When this year’s Everest was run and won, Private Eye was in Melbourne making light work of the Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

“We’ve picked our mark with him, it’s worked so far this prep and he’ll run really well. I’m very happy with him,’’ he said.

“He’s really honest and genuine.

“He wasn’t going that well (when he ran in the race last year), not as well as he is now anyway and he’s a happy horse in work.”

Pride said he considered waiting to give Private Eye another Group 1 chance in the Orr Stakes (1400m) back at Caulfield, and he still could go there, but wanted to give him his chance.

The Warwick Farm trainer has three other runners in the Russell Balding and on Golden Mile he said “I thought he was disappointing first-up but he does mix his form a bit and he needed the run.”

He concedes Mazu will want a wet track to be a factor while he’s pleased with how Coal Crusher is going with The Hunter his goal.

Meanwhile, Chris Waller is hoping Lady Shenandoah has better luck in the Russell Balding than she did in the TAB Everest and that’s not just because she drew wide on Saturday.

The three-time Group 1 winner had her chances taken from her, Waller said, nearing the 600m and he felt her effort to run seventh was as good as he could have hoped for.

“Her run was very good in the Everest, there wasn’t as much speed as we anticipated and ultimately she got quite keen and clipped heels around the 600m mark and almost fell,’’ Waller said.

What a warrior he is 💪

Private Eye leads all the way in the G2 Moonga 🖤💚 pic.twitter.com/i4jhzQbq2S

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 18, 2025

Private Eye wins the Moonga Stakes (Video: 7Horseracing on X)

“It was the end of the section once she almost fell, she lost momentum and confidence and she did well to finish as close as she did.”

Waller said he could have gone to the Golden Eagle with Lady Shenandoah but given she’d been trained with an Everest in mind he felt jumping to 1500m wasn’t in her interests.

“While Lady Shenandoah has won over the distance she’s been running over shorter distances,’’ he said.

“It’s not a big gap in distance but it is when you’ve been specifically trained for shorter events.”

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