Surprise packet Prairie Fire is warming up for his assault on the Group 1 $1.5m Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Prairie Fire, above, is one of the main chances in the 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Prairie Fire debuted for a third to Ennis Hill in the Group 3 $150,000 Ladbrokes Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on February 3 and then with the blinkers on was able to win the Listed $120,000 The Asian Executive Stakes (1100m) at Flemington last Saturday.
Trainer Mick Price said that Prairie Fire has come through his run down the Flemington straight last weekend in fine order and a repeat performance will see the Snitzel colt among the major end of the prizemoney again.
“He’s done really well – he’s a little surprise packet that horse,” Price told racing.com.
“I think he’ll put two runs together, the little surprise packet.”
Price said that he saw massive improvement from Prairie Fire from his first run to his second and with the blinkers on at Flemington he was able to earn a start in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes.
“Before his first run, I didn’t have much of a rating on him, and something had to run third in that race,” Price said.
“Blinkers on, the benefit of a run, a bit of adrenaline pumped through him, he’s really switched on now.
“I think what you saw in the Talindert (The Asian Executive Stakes) was a pretty professional horse, especially down the straight.
“He popped out early enough, and hit the line well in the blinkers.”
Prairie Fire has drawn barrier one in the sixteen horse field plus four emergencies and will be ridden again Mark Zahra who has been aboard the colt for his only two race starts.
Prairie Fire is well in the mix in the Ladbrokes.com.au market order for the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes at $9 alongside of Kinky Boom in a wide betting race that has the Lindsay Park trained Long Leaf as the $7 favourite.
On the second line of betting at $8 is the James Cummings trained Plague Stone and Tony McEvoy’s filly Oohood while Written By and Ennis Hill are both marked at $9.50.
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