by Wayne Currall
Classy Soho Tribeca returns to the track on Friday night and trainer-reinsman Kim Prentice is looking forward to getting back in the bike behind his star four-year-old entire. Soho Tribeca makes his reappearance in the Karri Forest Motel Pace (2130m) at Gloucester Park and, despite starting from the outside of the front line, appeals as the horse to beat.
Bred and owned by prominent owner Robert Watson, Soho Tribeca did his early racing in Victoria under the guidance of Jayne Davies where he competed against the best youngsters in Australia. He won nine races on the east coast and ran many placings, but he has blossomed since Prentice took over his training in October last year.
The Oldbury horseman raced Soho Tribeca six times at headquarters for three wins and two placings. One of those wins was in the $200,000 Golden Nugget where he defeated Chicago Bull and his two placings were a second in the $300,000 Fremantle Cup and a third in the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup, both times behind Chicago Bull.
Prentice said Soho Tribeca had benefited from a “really good spell” and had been back in work for about three months. “He’s a very, very nice horse,” Prentice said. “He’s the best horse in the race, but it’s not going to be easy from where he’s drawn. You know, you get a horse like Rabchenko who can lead and run 1:56 for the trip and we’re doing it tough out wide – it just makes it hard and I don’t want to gas him first-up. But in saying all that, I’m confident he can get the job done on Friday night.”
Prentice said if Soho Tribeca performs as well as he expects at his return and pulls up soundly, then it’s all systems go for the rich Vic Bred Series over the next couple of weeks. “He’ll be on a plane next Tuesday for Victoria if all goes according to plan,” Prentice said. “There’s heats coming up for the series next weekend and then there’s a $125,000 final for the four-year-olds. After that he’ll come back home and we’ll give him a break before setting him for the Inters.”
Prentice knows what it takes to win an Inter Dominion Final. He trained and drove WA champion Baltic Eagle to an all-the-way victory in the 2003 Inters in Christchurch. In the same year Baltic Eagle won the WA Pacing Cup and retired with more than $746,000 in prize money.
Prentice is reluctant to compare horses from different eras, but he knows he has a good one in Soho Tribeca. “Soho Tribeca is something special,” Prentice said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one as good as him. He’s not a push-button horse. He can over-race at times and seems at his best when he finds the front and can relax. Hopefully he’ll be too good for them on Friday night and then we’ll be off to Victoria on Tuesday.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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