‘I was shocked when I saw the betting market’: Tony Spears confident of Steady Ready’s chances at Eagle Farm

Queensland trainer says his gun sprinter has a new bag of tricks and is overpriced in the betting market for an Eagle Farm feature on Saturday.

Steady Ready will contest the Listed Bribie Handicap (1000m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography.

For the early part of Steady Ready’s racing career, it was a case of handlebars down and go as fast as you can.

Pure speed remains a key part of the Tony and Maddy Sears-trained sprinter’s arsenal, but he now has more strings to his bow.

Last seen sitting behind the speed and finishing off well to run third in the Listed Keith Noud Quality Handicap at Doomben over 1200m, Steady Ready drops back to the 1000m dash of the Listed Bribie Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

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Tony Sears said he doesn’t want the sprinter leading, he will be happiest if he sits behind the speed after drawing to advantage in barrier five.

And the astute Toowoomba trainer felt his sprinter would be shorter than the $9 available with some bookmakers on the Bribie.

“I think he has got a really good chance with a light weight,” Sears said.

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Steady Ready is a key chance in the Bribie Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Picture: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography.

“He has got a lot better chance than what the betting market suggests.

“I was quite shocked when I saw the (betting) market. I thought he was terrific in the race the other day.

“What we have done with him lately is tried to ride him in behind horses. Since we have been riding him in behind horses, he has been a lot better.

“We have done that because the races get harder when you get up in class and he needs some new tricks.”

Steady Ready burst on to the scene as an explosive two-year-old last year and has been a model of consistency in his 10 career starts, never being unplaced.

Father and daughter training team Tony and Maddy Sears. Picture: Kevin Farmer

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The King Of The Mountain slot race on his home Toowoomba track on New Year’s Day – where the four-year-old sprinter will run in a slot owned by his Singapore-based owner – is a big summer goal for Steady Ready.

But Sears is bullish about his prospects at Eagle Farm on Saturday and insists he won’t be leading over the sharp 1000m dash.

“We won’t be trying to lead on him, he will be bouncing out but he will be sitting in behind a couple of them,” Sears said.

“You would have to use him up a lot to lead, you’ve got horses like Flaming Conquest and Prince Of Boom and they go fast.

“From his barrier, I reckon he would be third in the run.

“Prince Of Boom (barrier 14) will have to work very hard to get around some of these horses.

“It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.”