St Mark’s Basilica X Stoked

Pound for pound, Joe Pride is considered one of the best trainers in Australia. From a medium-sized stable, Joe consistently wins major races.

Unlike most horse trainers, Joe does not hail from a family embedded in the racehorse industry. In fact, he initially studied psychology at Sydney University before his passion for racehorses took over.

He had to build his own legacy from the ground up and has enjoyed extraordinary success in a relatively short space of time. Joe’s swift rise to the top of Sydney’s training ranks can be attributed to a number of factors but none more so than the early influence of John Size. Joe spent four years with John at Randwick before being given a once in a lifetime opportunity. When John left for Hong Kong, he helped Joe establish a stable and clients which provided the platform from which his career would later flourish.

Now training at Warwick Farm, Joe has carved out a tremendously successful career with a reputation for being able to rejuvenate older horses, most notably dual-Group 1 winner Vision And Power. The son of Carnegie arrived at Joe’s stables with a record of 19 starts for one win and was coming off a 30 length defeat in a hurdle trial. Those who are familiar with the remarkable story will recall that Vision And Power won back-to-back Group 1’s in the George Ryder Stakes and Doncaster Mile only 18 months later. Those pair of Group 1’s were the horse’s ninth and tenth run of a preparation.

Joe has also been able to capture Group 1 wins with other tried horses such as Sacred Choice (2010 Myer Classic, 2011 Doncaster Handicap), Eduardo (2021 Galaxy, 2021 Doomben 10,000), Steps In Time (2014 Coolmore Classic) and Mariamia (2023 Galaxy).

Joe and Proven Thoroughbreds have celebrated multiple successes at the elite level together – highlighted by Think About It (2023 The Everest, 2023 Stradbroke Handicap, 2023 Kingsford Smith Cup) and Private Eye (2021 Epsom Handicap, 2022 Winners Stakes).

The most regal of broodmares took St Mark’s Basilica to the pinnacle with his first crop of runners as Diamond Necklace sparkled in Sunday’s Prix Marcel Boussac.

Coolmore’s young son of Siyouni, trained like his daughter by Aidan O’Brien, had two of his biggest days on the track in France. He claimed the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and the Prix du Jockey Club four years ago, among his five career Group 1s.

The unbeaten Diamond Necklace was already one of St Mark’s Basilica’s three black type winners, from last month’s Listed Ingabelle Stakes, with 17 of his first foals already off the mark worldwide.

However, this filly is something different as his most expensive yearling to have gone through the ring. 

MV Magnier of Coolmore went to €1,700,000 to acquire Diamond Necklace from Arqana August Yearling Sale last year. Bred in a partnership between Haras des Monceaux and Skymarc Farm, she is the tenth foal of the blue hen Prudenzia, a Listed winner by Dansili who is already responsible for Irish Oaks winner Chicquita and Coolmore’s international Group 1 star Magic Wand.

Prudenzia’s most recent offspring to have been put on the market, a filly by Night Of Thunder, broke the Arqana August record when claimed by Amo Racing for €3,000,000.

“The first for St Mark’s Basilica makes it very special,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing. “She’s going to be lovely, she’s a Classic filly obviously. I’d say she’ll be very comfortable starting at mile and she will stay probably the Oaks trip, I’d imagine. She’s very exciting. It’s typical St Mark’s; every week goes by they’re getting better and stronger.”

Henri Bozo, the director of Monceaux, was also emotional after the race.

“It was quite bold to send a mare of that calibre to a young stallion just starting his career,” he told France-Galop. “But it paid off. We like to send older mares to younger stallions. I try to avoid pairing older mares with older stallions. 

“The bloodline of St Mark’s Basilica – his power, depth and turn of foot – made us want to try it.”

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