Proven Thoroughbreds’ Walter has shrewd Eye on Group 1 Epsom prize
Progressive four-year-old son of Al Maher earns shot at big Randwick handicap
Jamie Walter was yesterday underselling his ability to source a quality horse for a relatively modest sum but the racetrack deeds of Private Eye (Al Maher), a leading chance in today’s Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m), suggests otherwise.
The Proven Thoroughbreds syndicator is on the cusp of a breakthrough Group 1 success courtesy of the Joe Pride-trained four-year-old who won the Queensland Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) at his only other start over a mile.
“I think he has a really good chance. What’s the word they use now, he profiles well, he’s a four-year-old who is a Group 2 winner, he’s run out a strong mile in Queensland and it looks like it will be solidly run with speed drawn out wide,” Walter said yesterday.
“It doesn’t always work out according to plan, but having those three leaders (Ashman, Harmony Rose and Riodini) out there, you’d think it’d generate tempo.
“Everyone is saying he needs it wet, and we haven’t had that rain yet, but I feel he is effective regardless of the going, but if it is wet it might reduce the chances of some of his rivals.”
Private Eye, in typical Pride and Walter style, has been quietly taken through the grades in a career which started as a late two-year-old before he won his maiden at Kembla Grange on the opening day of last season.
He won four straight during a summer campaign before another brief winter preparation which culminated in his Guineas success at Eagle Farm.
It was then that the Epsom – and the $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) – were circled in the calendar as the spring targets but he again returned with a first-up victory in the Show County Quality (Gr 3, 1200m) at Randwick on August 21.
Since then, not a lot has gone to plan for the gelding, finishing seventh in the Theo Marks Stakes (Gr 2, 1300m) and fourth in the Bill Ritchie (Gr 3, 1400m) a fortnight ago.
“We were pretty disappointed with the ride (in the Bill Ritchie). I don’t think Hughie (Bowman) showed a lot of knowledge of the horse because he’s managed to come from behind off steady tempos in the past,” Walter continued.
“He’s never pulled in his life; tactical speed is not his go and you’ve just got to ride him patiently and then he can rip home in a pretty slick last sectional for you.
“Popping out three wide and coming around the field mid-race didn’t favour him at all and, on the day, they weren’t making up ground out there anyway.”
Regan Bayliss, who won twice on Private Eye in January, will be back on board today but one and a half kilograms over his allotted 51-kilogram handicap.
“He is actually carrying 52.5 kilograms because that is about the lowest weight Regan Bayliss can get to. We did that deliberately because he’s got knowledge of the horse and we think that’s worth a kilo and a half,” the popular syndicator said.
“In saying that, I can’t see why they have only put the weights up half a kilo. It defies logic to me because people have got bigger.
“When I was a kid, the minimum weight was 47, now it’s 53 and 54 kilograms (in a regular race), yet in big races, Group 1 handicaps like this, we’ve got 13 or 14 of the 17 runners carrying under 53 kilograms.
“So, connections of those horses have to compromise on a jockey, arguably in the biggest race of a horse’s career.”
The experienced Walter believes it would be to the betterment of the industry if the minimum handicap weight was increased to 53 kilograms for races like the Epsom.
“These are showcase races for the industry and we should have the best jockeys and best horses,” he said.
“We’ve certainly got the best horses, but you’ve got Nash Rawiller, Jason Collett and Josh Parr all in the stands. I am not denying that these big handicaps don’t create opportunities for a lesser jockey who can ride the weight, that’s great for them, but I think as a general point we’ve got to change the weight scales in Group 1s.
“If you are going to have those sorts of minimums, you have them all year round.”
But back to Private Eye, who has returned his connections more than $563,000 in prize-money to date with the promise of plenty more to come. It was Walter who found the colt at the Magic Millions sale in Adelaide in 2019 and it was a link to his soon-to-be trainer which led to his purchase, for $62,500 from the Ambergate draft.
“I knew Joe had the half-brother Royal Witness, the first foal,who wasn’t a bad little horse,” said Walter.
“He was a bit small and, while this horse was not a big horse, he was bigger than Royal Witness. For an Al Maher, some of them can be a bit bulky in the forequarter, he was a bit leaner and more athletic.”
Walter, though, is modest about his own eye for a talented horse, Private Eye being exhibit A.
“Look, people can espouse all sorts of theories on why they get yearlings,” he said.
“They can say, ‘I knew he was a Group 1 winner when I got him out of the box’, but when you buy as many horses as I do, you’ve got to jag a good one occasionally.
“I was attracted to the mare (Confidential Queen) and I figured that Al Maher’s not a bad sire and the mare could be on the up and that was my gamble there.”
For a final word on Private Eye’s Epsom hopes, Walter said: “(Pride) couldn’t be happier with him and I think he was quoted somewhere, saying for a Group 1 race your preparations have got to be trouble-free and that is us, touchwood, to this point.”