Joe Pride sets lofty goals as new season kicks off at Rosehill

Trainer Joe Pride initiates every racing season in the same manner – with a pristine whiteboard, two ambitious objectives, and an abundance of optimism.

Two simple headings are displayed in the trainer's office: 'metro wins' and 'feature wins'. Next to each, a target number is listed, goals that Pride acknowledges are intentionally difficult to achieve.

For the 2025/26 season, Pride established the ambitious goal of 60 metropolitan victories, a number that ultimately proved just out of reach.

"I never meet the targets because I set myself lofty targets for each one," Pride commented. "The target was sixty metro wins. I count the interstate ones as well, and we got forty-four or forty-five, which is a good season."

The second section of the whiteboard tracks stakes winners by their names. Pride had set a target of 18 black-type winners and feels he came closer than many credit him for.

"I had (a goal of) eighteen stakes winners. There are sixteen on my board. Everyone tells me it's fifteen, but the Alan Brown is a black type race. It wasn't last year, but I've counted it," Pride explained.

After training a winner at the final Sydney metropolitan meeting of the season on Wednesday, Pride updated the final tally, took a photograph for posterity, and, with some hesitation, wiped the board clean.

It did not remain vacant for long.

Two fresh headings and two new targets are already in place as Pride looks to make an impeccable start to the 2026/27 season at Rosehill on Saturday.

While there are no feature races on the program, Pride considers Zouripper his leading contender in the Congratulations James McDonald Handicap (1100m).

Fittingly, champion jockey James McDonald will partner the gelding in the race bearing his name, honouring his Sydney jockeys' premiership success.

Zouripper is racing just ten days after finishing a commendable third behind Hawker Hall at Randwick last week, and Pride is confident the quick turnaround will be advantageous.

"I ran him ten days after his first run and he ran well again, so hopefully he can do it," Pride stated. "He's racing really honestly and with a lot of determination."

Pride will also present Aberlour and Gatsby's in the NSW Jockeys Association Handicap (1300m).

He anticipates Aberlour will benefit from more racing and longer distances, while believing Gatsby's can recapture form after struggling in heavy conditions at his most recent start.

"Gatsby's was unlucky the other day because he was trapped wide, but I also wouldn't run him in those (heavy) conditions again," Pride advised. "He's back on reasonable ground with his blinkers back on."

As another blank whiteboard awaits its purpose, Pride commences a new campaign, aiming to transform ambitious targets into another successful season.

Explore the latest racing odds with online bookmakers.