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By Ray Hickson

One of trainer Joe Pride’s passions in his job is in devising the programs for his horses and he’d have to say he’s found the right race for Snippy Fox at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Joe Pride (Pic: Bradley Photos)

The consistent mare produced an eye-catching return at Listed level a month ago on a good track, much to Pride’s delight, and she takes imposing second-up, distance and heavy track statistics into the Bowermans Handicap (1200m).

The Warwick Farm trainer admits he was a little concerned about how the five-year-old trialled going into the Bob Charley AO Stakes but after she sizzled home into fourth place behind Dragonstone he came out of it rapt.

“She’s always been a horse who has been back in races before, I ran her in some short races to start other preparations and she’d get back and just not make an impression,’’ he said.

“But she really made an impression and I thought to myself ‘you’ve come back really good’.”

In that return, Snippy Fox clocked a last 600m of 34.45 (Punter's Intelligence), just 0.02 outside the winner's race best time, and the fastest last 200m of 11.68.

Pride, giving some interesting insight into his training mind, said when it comes to placing his horses it’s all about knowing their strengths and, with Snippy Fox lining up for her 20th start this weekend, she’s a horse he has a good handle on.

“It all depends on where they are at in their careers the way you program for them,’’ he said.

“I tend not to get too carried away and predict too much.

“I let it unfold a bit more organically if they haven’t had many starts but once I feel like I know them I start to be specific about the way I program.

“If you try to interfere too much you can ruin what’s going to happen, you’re getting in the way more than helping.”

Snippy Fox, $6 with TAB on Thursday, has won three of her four second-up attempts (and was placed in the other) plus has a similar record on heavy ground and in favourable conditions Pride expects her to be prominent in the run this time.

He has a healthy respect for the early favourite, the John O’Shea-trained Waihaha Falls, but said it’s up to the mare’s rival to prove he’s up to the grade.

“She’ll get up on speed this time and she won really well at Randwick second-up last time over 1200m,’’ he said.

“She’s in that race up to her ears that’s for sure. It’s come up strong and she’s got to win against the boys, Waihaha Falls has come back well and is lightly raced and on the up so he’s hard to beat.

“It was Benchmark 78 last time so now he’s going to have to crack some open company horses.”

The mare is one of three runners for Pride in the Bowermans Handicap, he says new acquisition Opacity has prepared well for a first-up run but might need it while rising nine-year-old Inn Keeper has his chance to find form on the heavy track.

The latter was sent to Pride in search of wet ground after finishing second in Wangoom at Warrnambool on a heavy 10, and is confident his last placing in the Bob Charley isn’t a reflection of what he’ll produce on Saturday.

“I wasn’t surprised to see him run down the track but maybe not that far,’’ he said.

“He’s had a trial in between and he gets a genuine heavy track.”

Pride is strongly represented at Randwick on Saturday and is expecting front-running sprinter Taksu to take catching again in the Listed $160,000 Furphy Winter Stakes (1400m).

The gelding, $2.60 with TAB, led all the way for his first win on a good track in the Civic Stakes over the same course two weeks ago and that win only served to boost the trainer’s confidence in him.

“He’s a bit of an excitement machine the way he races,’’ he said.

Snippy Fox runs fourth at Randwick on June 11

“It was good to see him win on a dry track the other day because he was looking a bit one dimensional in that he could only race on wet. He’ll be hard to beat.”

The likes of Rubinocchi, Lady Brook, Kouklara, Titanium Power and Silent Agenda are all in races Pride feels they can run well in.

He sits in sixth place on thew trainer’s premiership with 36 city wins, already six ahead of last season where he finished ninth so it says Pride’s placement is working well. He also says he has the composition of his stable just right.

“I still only have just over 50 in work but we have got it now so we have very few babies in work and we appear to be a bigger stable than we are because we get more runners per box,’’ he said.

“Every time you are at the races it’s the chance for your connections to win prizemoney.”

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