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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Joe Pride has lowered the bar on talented mare The Black Cloud following a freshen up and hopes she can return from the “wilderness” at Canterbury on Monday.

The four-year-old has recorded one placing from five starts since her last win just under 12 months ago and Pride says it’s important she performs in the Agency Real Estate Handicap (1100m) to give him the confidence to try again in stakes company.

“She needs to find some winning form again,’’ he said.

“She’s kind of gone into the wilderness a little bit since winter last year when she won that race at Flemington, we haven’t seen the best of her since then.

“I can’t work it out, that’s why we are coming back to benchmark grade. She’s been disappointing so hopefully she can turn it back around again.”

The Black Cloud hasn’t raced since finishing four lengths behind Commemorative in the Group 3 Wenona Girl (1200m) back on March 8.

The Black Cloud runs fourth in a Warwick Farm trial on May 26

Her strong form in the winter of last year, which wasn’t unlike stablemate and Bob Charley AO Stakes winner In Flight who has made the leap to stakes company, encouraged Pride to raise the bar.

“I’d like to think we can get back to stakes grade,’’ he said.

“Jay (Ford) is a very good judge and when he was going through the grades on her he said ‘stakes horse every day of the week’ and he’s not very often that far wrong.

“With a mare it’s the obvious thing to do because you’re making them more valuable and it didn’t work.

“She had a short let up and one trial, I’m happy to take her back tom the races but she needs to fire for sure.”

Ford will ride The Black Cloud from barrier three at Canterbury while Pride said he has some thinking to do before committing to running Cosmonova in the same race.

He scratched the mare from the final race at Randwick on Saturday and said with another wide barrier he’ll have a look at the withdrawals on race morning and if she doesn’t run she will trial on Tuesday.

“It’s a mongrel barrier, she’d have to be ridden quiet,’’ he said.

“She’s had exactly the same prep as The Black Cloud, they raced the same day and had the same amount of time off and had a trial.”

All the fields, form and replays for Monday's Canterbury meeting