Stakes racing is on the agenda for THE BLACK CLOUD after a successful hit-and-run mission to Flemington on Saturday.
The Joe Pride-trained filly lumped 59kg down the famous Flemington straight and staved off a wall of challengers under the urgings of Jay Ford, who celebrated his first win at Victoria’s premier racecourse since TAKEOVER TARGET’s Newmarket Handicap triumph back in 2006.
“I haven’t been here in a long time – it takes a bit for me to go interstate, but I quite like this horse, and she made the trip worthwhile,” Ford said.
THE BLACK CLOUD was under siege at the furlong mark but tenaciously pulled away from her rivals to score by a length.
The Black Cloud has a bright future! Wins the VRC Country Race Day Sprint, our last at Flemington today.
📽 @7HorseRacing pic.twitter.com/jNnGJzqZFP
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) June 22, 2024
“She travelled really well, responded when I needed her to, albeit when I first let her off the bridle, she raced around a bit, first time up the middle of the track,” Ford added
“When the second horse challenged me late, she extended again and started to go away from it. She’s an exciting horse, and she’ll find her way to black-type in time.
“Joe just takes them through their grades, and that reflects in her record … she’s on the right spiral, she’s going great guns, and ticks another box going up the straight.”
Pride is looking at freshening up THE BLACK CLOUD for the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) at Randwick on August 24, instead of being tempted by another interstate trip to the Listed Creswick Stakes (1200m) back at Flemington in a fortnight.
“I think it’s mission accomplished for now,” Pride said.
“I’ll get her home and have a look at her but she’s shown today, if she hasn’t already shown before, that she’s on the way to a stakes’ class horse.”
The daughter of SHAMUS AWARD now boasts a record that reads 4 wins and 2 seconds from just 6 starts with prizemoney just shy of $300,000.
She was another inexpensive yearling purchase for Proven Thoroughbreds, knocked down for $100,000 at the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
THE BLACK CLOUD becomes Proven’s 47th winner for the season and 27th for the calendar year.
Photo: Vince Caligiuri