Eduardo cruises through final trial before Lightning Stakes run
Eduardo stepped out at Royal Randwick this morning in his final trial before resuming in next Saturday’s Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
The eight-year-old had an exceptional 2021, winning five of his seven races and placing third on the other two occasions, where he was beaten by Nature Strip and Masked Crusader in both The Everest and the T.J. Smith Stakes.
The Joseph Pride-trained gelding has won over $5.6 million in prizemoney and will be looking to add a third Group 1 to his resume when he resumes on February 19.
Eduardo has had two trials in preparation for the Lightning, winning by half a length on January 24 before recording a similar margin at Randwick this morning.
Another trial win for @PrideRacing star Eduardo as he defeats Splintex in a 735m heat at Randwick on Monday, running 43.87 with Bundchen in third. @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/ndnY2vOROF
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) February 6, 2022
Showing his customary gate speed, Eduardo settled alongside Splintex and Bundchen in the first trio, maintaining a three-wide run for the entire 735m gallop.
Nash Rawiller let the dual Group 1 winner slide up the home straight, joining Splintex before putting a narrow margin on the Mark Newnham-trained sprinter in the final stages.
Eduardo stopped the clock at 43.87s, which was only the third-fastest time of the four 735m trials, although the rangy chestnut wasn’t asked for a huge effort.
Since joining the Pride stable in July 2020, Eduardo hasn’t been back to Victoria, which is where he began his racing career.
Eduardo has had three starts at Flemington without a victory, although he did finish a narrow second to I Am Excited in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes in 2018.
The gelding is set for yet another battle with Nature Strip, with online bookmakers rightfully putting the pair at the top of the market for the Lightning Stakes.
Nature Strip is the $2.60 favourite in his quest to go back-to-back in the race, while Eduardo ($4.40) has fallen to the third line of betting after Chris Waller announced that James McDonald would take the ride on Home Affairs ($4.20).