In form trainer Joe Pride to unleash Accredited on Saturday’s Takeover Target Stakes at Gosford

Accredited resumes at Gosford on Saturday after creating plenty of hype over the summer with some slashing performances.

Accredited resumes at Gosford on Saturday following a slashing summer preparation Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Trainer Joe Pride will be chasing more Saturday stand-alone meeting success with summer sprint find Accredited resuming at Gosford on Saturday.

Pride, who prepared three winners at the Hawkesbury meeting last Saturday including the Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown with City Of Lights and Listed Hawkesbury with Dragonstone, has entered Accredited for the Listed $250,000 Takeover Target Stakes (1200m).

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Pride also knows what is required to win the feature Gosford sprint having won it five times previously with Think About It (2023), Kuro (2017), Ball Of Muscle (2015), See The World (2012) and Title (2011).

Joe Pride has enjoyed strong success at Gosford’s flagship meeting in recent years

Accredited is resuming after an exciting summer campaign that included three successive Sydney wins. He is at $6 in early TAB Fixed Odds betting for the Takeover Target Stakes behind only Ostraka at $4.50 favouritism.

The Gosford meeting has attracted a bumper 226 entries including 24 nominations for the $500,000 The Coast (1600m).

Know Thyself, trained by Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich, is on a three-race winning streak of his own including his Country Championships Final triumph and he has been installed the $4.50 favourite for The Coast ahead of imported galloper Wootton Verni at $6.

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Hezashocka returns to defend his title in the Listed $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) and is attempting to become the first dual winner of the race this century.

The Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior-trained Hezashocka is the $4.50 equal favourite with New Endeavour in opening Cup markets.

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Meanwhile, the outstanding Giga Kick looks close to a handicapping certainty in the Group 1 $1 million The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

The Everest winner Giga Kick is a piping hot favourite for Saturday’s Group 1 Goodwood at Morphetville Picture: Grant Peters - Trackside Photography

Giga Kick, winner of the 2022 The Everest and more than $12.7 million prizemoney, has been allocated only 54.5kg under the set weights and penalties conditions of The Goodwood because the injury-plagued sprinter hasn’t won for nearly two years.

But Giga Kick showed last spring when narrowly beaten by Bella Nipotina in The Everest that he is still among the nation’s elite sprinters and it is no surprise he is a dominant $2 favourite for Adelaide’s premier sprint.

#Schwarz, winner of the Group 1 William Reid Stakes last start, tuned up for the Group 1 $1.5 million Doomben 10,000 later this month with an easy barrier trial win at Royal Randwick on Monday.

Originally published as In form trainer Joe Pride to unleash Accredited on Saturday’s Takeover Target Stakes at Gosford