Joe Pride is arguably best known for his skill at getting longevity from his horses, so to have an experienced, early season three-year-old being aimed at all the big races is relatively uncommon territory.
But Pride is more than comfortable with where he finds himself ahead of Shalatin’s return in the Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
“I’m a big advocate for not racing my two-year-olds because I believe you can sometimes do more harm than good,” Pride said.
“But in this horse’s case, he handled it all really easily and all it did was toughen him up and season him.
“Now he’s ready to take on whatever he needs to take on, which could be a Spring Champion Stakes, or a Golden Rose.”
Although placed in the Group 2 Todman Stakes on an unsuitable heavy track, Shalatin is still a maiden after five starts.
His profile is not dissimilar to that of Fastnet Rock, who was likewise competitive in good company as a juvenile before breaking through for his first win in the 2004 Up And Coming Stakes then going on to claim the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate-Lightning Stakes double the following year.
While spring plans for Shalatin will be largely determined by track conditions – Pride is loathe to run him on anything worse than a soft 7 – his first-up performance will also be key.
“It’s a fact-finding mission on Saturday,” Pride said.
“He is still a maidener and he’s got a big mountain to climb, but I think he’s a really nice horse and it will give us a good idea where we stand against some of these three-year-olds.
“These aren’t the best ones, they’re a tier below as you always see in this race, but that’s not to say a horse out of this race couldn’t go on and win a Group 1 this spring.”
Shalatin has also been accepted for a race at Kembla Grange on Saturday, a move Pride says is an “insurance policy” in case the Rosehill track comes up heavy.
The trainer is chasing his first win in the Up And Comin g Stakes after coming close three years ago when Superium was first past the post and controversially lost the race to True Detective in the stewards’ room.