Mick Price, the trainer, harked back to his pre-training experience by personally parading The Speed Machine at Mornington.

Trained by Mick Price alongside Michael Kent Jnr, the two-year-old gelding turned tricky at saddling time, leading Price to take charge of strapping duties prior to Saturday’s Mornington Sires (1000m).

The approach succeeded brilliantly as The Speed Machine ($3), ridden by Thomas Stockdale, dashed to the lead and held on by a half-neck from favourite Luna Vega ($2.50), with Zynaro ($11) 2-½ lengths adrift in third.

Price noted that red earmuffs are fitted to The Speed Machine for the pre-race parade and removed at the barriers.

Observing the gelding as half-asleep, Price dispensed with the headgear post-saddling.

“His father (Hanseatic) used to have a bit of feist about him,” Price said.

“His father used to always have two strappers on him, and I did take the red earmuffs off him while we were saddling him up, because I thought he was half asleep.

“But I found out the wrong way. He was not asleep and I had to do my own work.”

The Speed Machine has won both his starts, including a 1000m victory in a four-runner field on debut at Morphettville Parks last month.

Price doesn’t see him as solely a 1000m specialist and plans to test him at 1200m eventually.

The colours belong to Kempinsky, victor of The Vase at Moonee Valley and second in the Group 1 Victoria Derby at Flemington back in 2003.

“We’ve had horses together for 30 years, but we haven’t had a lot of starters over that time,” Price said.

“He buys them, I move them on, but this one, he’s a keeper.

“He a fast horse, and he’s a strong horse, and he’s very sound, an easy horse to train.”

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