Price looking for Gold lining in the Southern Cross Stakes

Luke Price is the first to admit that Our Gold Hope will need both pace and luck to make an impact first-up in a black-type sprint, but he is equally confident she is in strong enough form to defy her outsider status.

Priced at $61, the mare is set to start as the second-longest shot in Saturday’s Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill, marking her first run since finishing second to Socks Nation in the Queensland Oaks (2200m) in June. She has shown promise in two recent barrier trials, and with a record of never finishing worse than fifth in 10 starts across various distances—half of them at Group level—Price believes the bookmakers may have underestimated her.

“I nearly fell over when I saw 80-1 on Wednesday afternoon. I thought, ‘oh, yes please,’” Price said. “You have to be realistic, though. She’s first-up in a tougher grade over 1200m than she’s ever raced before. But her form speaks for itself. She’s going as well at home as she has in her trials, so I’m really excited to get her to the races and for the autumn ahead.”

Price plans to finalize a carnival program for Our Gold Hope after her second-up run, with Group 1 races like the Coolmore Classic (1500m) on March 15 and the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) during the Randwick carnival on his radar. While she was stretched to middle distances as a three-year-old, Price believes she is better suited to a mile.

“I don’t think I’ll push her out in distance this preparation. The option is there if needed, but even when she was racing over 2000m last prep, her riders felt she was sharper over a mile,” he said. “But you only get one shot at an Oaks, so that’s what we aimed for, and her adaptability was impressive. On Saturday, we’ll have to settle back from her barrier, but if there’s enough speed and things go her way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her finishing strongly with 53 kilos.”

The stable will also be represented by Noble Soldier in the Midway Handicap (1350m) and Mogwai in the Captivant @ Kia Ora Handicap (1350m), with Price particularly optimistic about Mogwai’s chances. “Mogwai has been a great buy for the stable,” he said. “Hopefully, he can pay for himself on Saturday because I expect him to be very hard to beat.”