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By Ray Hickson

There’s a little bit of pressure involved in training a mare from the family of Winx and trainer Joe Pride is feeling it as the champ’s half-sister City Of Lights chases a valuable stakes win at Hawkesbury on Saturday.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos)

Pride has tested the five-year-old in black type company four times with a fourth her best result last spring but he says the Group 3 $250,000 Pioneer Services Hawkesbury Crown (1300m) is a prime chance for the mare.

City Of Lights, bred and owned by John Camilleri, is the eighth foal of Winx’s dam Vegas Showgirl.

“There’s a bit of extra pressure with a horse like her,’’ Pride said.

“I’ve got a job to do, but I feel like it’s fallen into place nicely for her this preparation and sets up well.

“That’s my mission with her (black type). That’s the only thing I want to get with this mare, it’s all that matters.

“She’s probably the best bred horse I’ve ever had in my stable and if she’s able to obtain black type John will be happy.”

A first-up second in a Benchmark 88 at Randwick two weeks ago told Pride that City Of Lights, $8 with TAB on Thursday, is on track to produce a big performance up to 1400m and with soft conditions.

Pride said he’s pleased to have given City Of Lights a run leading into the Hawkesbury Crown given that she’ll be facing a soft track at best but that’s also what she’s looking for.

“It’s an ideal opportunity for her. She wants soft ground, I’m convinced of that, it’s the one big thing she needs to do her best,’’ he said.

“She has a good draw, she can race a bit handy like she did the other day, she will be in the first half of the field and I think she will be in the finish.

“When they can run well in 88s against the boys they are never far off against the mares.

“They’re an even bunch of mares, I’m not scared of too much in particular and I just need her to run up to her best. A good tempo would help her, she’ll enjoy it.”

The Warwick Farm trainer has what he sees as three genuine chances in the Listed $200,000 Hawkesbury XXXX Gold Rush (1100m) in Dragonstone, In Flight and Testator Silens but sided with the mare over the two geldings.

While he said he can make a case for all three running really well he feels the conditions suit In Flight who left him brimming after her first-up second at Canterbury on Easter Monday.

“She’s a lot better on a wet track and she gets that on Saturday,’’ he said.

“I’m really pleased with what she did at Canterbury on an unsuitable surface. She’s one of those horses where there’s a good deal of difference between her wet track form and good track form.”

There could be a slight change of tactic for top weight Dragonstone who has been around the mark this preparation but Pride said he couldn’t get into the race when fifth behind stablemate Mazu in the Hall Mark Stakes (1200m).

“He’s very genuine and just got too far back the other day,’’ he said.

“We’re probably going to have to give him a squeeze from that gate. It’s one or the other and I don’t think we want to be going back, we did that the other day and it didn’t work.”

Testator Silens is probably better known at 1400m or so but Pride is confident enough that he can run a big race fresh – there might be a tinge of bias there though as he is one of the trainer’s stable favourites.

City Of Lights runs second at Randwick on April 19

“He’s pretty versatile, I think he will sprint well fresh,’’ he said.

“Listed grade sprints may be beyond him but the wet track probably brings him into it.”

Joe Pride on Cool Jakey (race 10): “We won’t be changing anything with him, that’s his weapon and we’ll be using that again Saturday.”

On Excelladus (race 10): “He could have used a draw, it would have helped him but we’ll see how the track is playing. He is a good competitive horse. He has got some speed, he had to go back the other day because it was 1200m.”

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