‘I am just in awe of the horse’: Trainer Joe Pride on verge of royal double with Ceolwulf in 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick

Ceolwulf’s campaign has been littered with setbacks, but trainer Joe Pride couldn’t be more confident as Ceolwulf aims for the second leg of a royal double in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Joe Pride made his biggest-ever bid for a yearling earlier this week – and was left empty-handed.

“I went to more than I have ever gone for a horse, $625,000, but then it was sold for $650,000,’’ Pride said.

“We don’t play in that deep end of the pool very often and I’m happy to stay where we are, it works pretty well for me.’’

This anecdote of Pride’s unsuccessful attempt to buy one of the well-bred yearlings at the Inglis Easter Sale is emblematic of the Warwick Farm trainer

Pride doesn’t follow convention. He rarely attends yearling sales. He trusts his eye to source a tried racehorse or a young galloper at a “Ready to Run” Sale. He doesn’t have many two-year-old starters which is also unusual for a trainer in Sydney racing.

But a lot about the Joe Pride story is different to other trainers in racing.

On the eve of Pride’s attempt to complete an unprecedented “royal double” with Ceolwulf in the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday, the trainer reveals what sets him and his stable star apart from their rivals.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE START

Trainer Joe Pride. Picture: Jeremy Ng / Getty Images

Unlike many of his peers, Pride wasn’t born into racing. He’s the son of a plumber and grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs, played rugby league for the Mount Druitt Raiders and is a keen follower of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.

Pride was a good student and earned entry to Sydney University where he studied psychology. So, where did he find the passion for the thoroughbred?

“My Dad was always a punter and just watching his enthusiasm for racing got me interested in the sport,’’ he said.

“I had a few mates at school who also enjoyed racing so it went from there.’’

Pride spent a year at university when his life came to a crossroads. He wasn’t enjoying his studies and realised racing was his life’s calling.

It was 1993, the year Vintage Crop won the Melbourne Cup, when Pride began work as a stablehand at Rosehill. By 2000, he took out his own trainer’s licence.

“In seven years I went from not handling a horse at all to training on my own so it was a pretty steep learning curve,’’ he said.

Pride admits much of what he has learned about training racehorses came when he spent two years working under John Size, the training genius who left Sydney racing for Hong Kong 25 years ago.

Joe Pride during his days working for John Size at Randwick. He’s pictured in 1999 with former star racehorse Padstow. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“Often, I reflect on a lot of things I saw John do when I was working for him,’’ Pride said.

“I’ve picked up things along the way but what I learned from John is more than just the ‘spine’ of what I do now.

“Most of what I know is based on what I learned from him, no doubt about that.’’

Pride said Size has also been influential on how other trainers these days use barrier trials more frequently to prepare their horses for races.

“Before John came to Sydney, people weren’t trialling horses anywhere near as much as they do now,’’ Pride said.

“John would trial his horses until he was happy with their level of fitness, he would even barrier trial a horse mid-preparation which was rare in those days.

“I give most of my horses two trials before they resume racing, occasionally three trials.

“I understand people paying a lot of money to have their horse in work and they want to see them race so two trials is enough for most horses to have them ready to go to the races.’’

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE TRAINER

Jockey Nash Rawiller chats to trainer Joe Pride at Warwick Farm. Picture: Adam Yip

When Size revealed his plans to move to Hong Kong, Pride had enough confidence in his own ability to take out a trainer’s licence in 2000.

Pride has since prepared the winners of nearly 1300 races including 19 at Group 1 level, and has trained some outstanding racehorses during his career including The Everest winner Think About It, Private Eye, Eduardo, Tiger Tees, Rain Affair, Sacred Choice, Terravista, Vision And Power and potentially the best of them all, Ceolwulf.

The trainer has achieved success despite having only 50 in work at his Warwick Farm stables – a relatively “small” number in Sydney racing these days.

“I don’t need massive numbers of (new) horses to maintain having 50 in full-time training,’’ Pride said.

“I use a platform when I do an interview to tell the audience about my team as they might not know how many I have in work.

“They could think we all have a big stable of horses but when you go to a yearling sale and see who is buying these horses, I’m not getting those expensive yearlings.

“So, any chance I get to explain to the audience whether it is on Sky Racing or talking to you guys in the print media I’m going to do that. I’m not complaining but I like to tell people what my situation is.’’

Think About It wins the #TABEverest! @[e-mail]/zqcmxmkFRj

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 14, 2023

Pride is also the first to admit his training methods are not textbook, either.

“I’m not afraid to go about things in a different way because I know I train differently to most others,’’ he said.

“I don’t like to put too many plans in place for my horses.

“It is easy to plan with a good horse but I always prefer to react to what I see. I want to be flexible enough to do that, change things when I feel it is necessary.

“If you get caught up in a rigid plan, often you can derail a whole preparation.’’

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE DISCOVERY

Pride and part-owner Leighton Howl found Ceolwulf at a “Ready to Run” Sale at Karaka two years ago, purchasing him for $170,000.

Ceolwulf is by champion stallion Tavistock which provided the clue to the gelding’s unusual name.

Tavistock is a market town near Devon in the south of England in an area called Wessex that was once a kingdom in the Anglo-Saxon period known as the Dark Ages between 410-1066AD.

Ceolwulf reigned as the King of Wessex for 14 years from 597AD until his death in 611AD.

Pride didn’t push Ceolwulf to the races as a juvenile and he only won one race as a three-year-old in a Warwick Farm maiden but he showed glimpses of obvious potential when second to Riff Rocket in the Rosehill Guineas and ATC Australian Derby.

Ceolwulf went to a new level last spring with his Group 1 wins in the Epsom Handicap and King Charles III Stakes. He is chasing a third Group 1 win – and the “royal double” – in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

It's Ceolwulf right down the outside in the TAB Epsom and he sails away to take the famous G1 mile for @SchofieldChad and @PrideRacing! 🏆@aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/irirNeZGse

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 5, 2024

But Pride was not surprised by Ceolwulf’s emergence as one of the best racehorses in training. From very early in the horse’s career, he stood out with his work appetite, powers of recovery and sheer ability.

“Ceolwulf’s different to other horses with his capacity to absorb more work,’’ Pride said.

“It comes down to one word – constitution. I’ve never had a horse with his constitution, his ability to cope with training and racing.

“My training regime is built around what I learned from John and although this is not a flattering term, it is about getting the best out of ‘weaker’ horses.

“But when you get a horse like this you have to make adjustments for them. I have to train him differently to get to that level of fitness where he can perform at his best.

“He can cope with a lot of work, he is extremely tough.’’

Epsom winner Ceolwulf with a huge run wins the G1 King Charles III Stakes in front of a record crowd at Randwick!@PrideRacing | @SchofieldChad@aus_turf_club | @WorldPoolpic.twitter.com/28oRVnurKS

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 19, 2024

Pride said in a sense the “good horses are funny because they don’t teach you that much’’ as a trainer.

“What you learn about training a good horse like Ceolwulf you can’t apply to other horses. It would be a mistake to do that,’’ he said.

“Because what Ceolwulf can deal with there is no use training all my horses like that because they just won’t last or be at their best.’’

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE SETBACK

Ceolwulf wins the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Randwick in October last year. Picture: Bradley Photos

Ceolwulf is a case in point of Pride’s ability to pivot and alter plans after the outstanding four-year-old suffered a slight setback earlier this autumn.

The gelding sustained a minor wound to his hind leg on the eve of the Verry Elleegant Stakes on March 1 and was a race morning scratching but Pride has since been able to give the gelding another three races.

“I was forced to change his preparation, there wasn’t much I could do about that,’’ Pride said.

“My whole focus these last six weeks or so was to have him in tip top shape for the Queen Elizabeth. I think I have been able to do that now.’’

Pride’s given Ceolwulf lead-up runs in the Canterbury Stakes (fifth behind Royal Patronage), George Ryder Stakes (third to Gringotts) and then last start in the Neville Sellwood Stakes, which he won narrowly from Just Fine.

Ceolwulf’s winning margin wasn’t flattering but Pride felt there was plenty of merit in the gelding’s effort.

A huge win to Ceolwulf in the G2 Neville Sellwood Stakes - what a finish!! 🥵@SchofieldChad | @PrideRacing | @aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/usXVOly5eE

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 1, 2025

“The other day he ran the second fastest last 600m of the day and that was in a 2000m race,’’ he explained.

“The races he has been in this preparation there hasn’t been any pace and his brilliant finishing speed only comes into play when other horses are starting to fatigue.

“When he gets into a truly run race like we had in the Epsom Handicap and then the King Charles last spring, that is when you see the best version of Ceolwulf.

“I’m just hoping we get to see that on Saturday in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.’’

But Pride said Ceolwulf would arrive at Royal Randwick on Saturday at the peak of his powers.

“I’m glad I didn’t run him in the Doncaster Mile, there is no way in the world he would have won that race from the second half of the field with his big weight the way they ran that race,’’ he said.

“I feel like we have taken the right path so far and this is his Grand Final and he is spot on for Saturday now.’’

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE BEST

Ceolwulf backers can breathe a sigh of relief! He just gets there 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/kUMWaaVf7H

— TAB (@tabcomau) April 1, 2025

Pride believes as good as Ceolwulf has been already, the best is yet to come.

“I think he is the best horse I have ever had,’’ Pride said. “He’s easily the best distance horse I have ever had.

“He has elite finishing speed and he is definitely building that speed as he gets older.

“When I look at him, I am just in awe of the horse, he is an amazing athlete.

“What he is capable of achieving in the next two or three seasons is a really exciting journey for his owners to be on.

“No matter what happens on Saturday, and he will be hard to beat in this race, I’m confident the best is yet to come with this horse.’’

Originally published as ‘I am just in awe of the horse’: Trainer Joe Pride on verge of royal double with Ceolwulf in 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick