Private Eye shows class in P B Lawrence
Evergreen nine-year-old Private Eye (8 g Al Maher – Confidential Queen by Shamardal) showcased another classy effort as he landed Saturday’s P B Lawrence Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Caulfield in great style.
Ridden by Nash Rawiller for trainer Joe Pride, the gelded son of Al Maher (Danehill) proved a class above as he beat Desert Lightning (Pride Of Dubai) by two lengths with a further half-length back to Here To Shock (Shocking) back in third.
“It was a little bit like In Flight when she won here,” Pride said.
“When I saw him get off the float, I grew in confidence. When your horses travel away, you need to see them travel well, and he looked magnificent.
“He’s an amazing athlete and that was his 13th interstate trip. He’s very tough and he carried a good bit of residual fitness from Queensland.
“It was only his second start for 2025. It would easily be the lightest he has been raced in some time and maybe that has got something to do with his good form at the moment.”
Pride has the Memsie Stakes as an option for Private Eye and will keep his eyes on the weather.
“I wouldn’t rule out coming back for the Memsie, but there are plenty of races there in Sydney also,” Pride said.
“We’ll hopefully pick something off and hopefully on a better track than we got today.”
Private Eye’s win took his record to 13 wins and nine placed efforts from 44 starts, with over $12.3 million earned in prize-money.