Pride reveals why Attica’s trial matters more than Ceolwulf’s

It’s the time of year, where punters become trial experts as the Saturday winter racing gives way to the excitement of spring horses returning during the week.

But, how much can you read into our best horses, some of which are merely out for a stretch of their legs.

The answer is different for Joe Pride’s returning stars Attica and Ceolwulf at Warwick Farm’s barrier trials on Tuesday.

“The first barrier trial is a starting point, and you don’t learn that much from it,” Pride said. “We have seen them in the morning and they have both come back well.

“It’s a long way until their targets, but it’s the next step on the way back to the races.

“You will find out a bit more about Attica than Ceolwulf on Tuesday, because he is going on the poly and having three trials”

Godolphin’s Attica, who won the Spring Champion Stakes last spring, has returned as a gelding, and Pride will use Ceolwulf’s four-year-old spring campaign as a template.

“He is going to start off in the Spring Preview and have a couple of runs before we get to target races,” Pride said. “Because he will be starting at 1400m in few weeks we need him to do a little more on Tuesday.

“He didn’t have his mind on the job as a colt in the autumn and like Ceolwulf, he has come back better as gelding,’ Pride said.

“Ceolwulf was a little sharper, and we dropped him back to the mile in the Epsom after Kingston Town Stakes, whereas I see Attica stepping up in trip to the Metropolitan or a Caulfield Cup.

”We have time on our side with Ceolwulf and we are going to build him up slowly toward the King Charles III Stakes [which he has won for the past two two years] as he comes back from injury.”

Pride’s success with Attica has seen 10 rising two-year-olds join his yard from Godolphin, which has the trainer excited.

“I can’t afford to buy horses with pedigrees like these ones [from Godolphin],” Pride said. “There are some nice types among them, and we are going to have a few two-year-old runners this season, which will be something a bit different.”

Attica takes Chris Waller’s star team of Angel Capital, Beiwacht, Campione D’Ltalia, Diameter and Fireball in his trial on Tuesday.

It comes after the return of Autumn Glow, Autumn Glow and Aeliana among others at the rescheduled Randwick barrier trials on Monday.