Joe Pride commences each racing season in precisely the same manner – with a blank whiteboard, two ambitious objectives, and a significant dose of optimism.
Two uncomplicated headings are present in the trainer’s office: ‘metro wins’ and ‘feature wins’. Adjacent to each is a target number, goals that Pride admits are deliberately set high.
For the 2025/26 season, Pride had set himself the demanding target of 60 metropolitan victories, a figure that ultimately proved just out of reach.
“I never meet the targets because I set myself lofty targets for each one,” Pride said. “The target was sixty metro wins. I count the interstate ones as well, and we got forty-four or forty-five, which is a good season.”
The second section of the whiteboard tracks stakes winners by name. Pride had established a goal of 18 black-type winners and believes he came closer to this than many acknowledge.
“I had (a goal of) eighteen stakes winners. There are sixteen on my board. Everyone tells me it’s fifteen, but the Alan Brown is a black type race. It wasn’t last year, but I’ve counted it,” Pride stated.
After training a winner at the final Sydney metropolitan meeting of the season on Wednesday, Pride updated the final numbers, captured a photograph for posterity, and, with some reluctance, erased the board.
It did not remain empty for long.
Two fresh headings and two new targets are already in place as Pride aims to make a perfect start to the 2026/27 season at Rosehill this Saturday.
Although there are no feature races on the program, Pride identifies Zouripper as his prime chance in the Congratulations James McDonald Handicap (1100m).
Fittingly, champion jockey James McDonald will partner the gelding in the race named in honour of his Sydney jockeys’ premiership success.
Zouripper is backing up after finishing a solid third behind Hawker Hall at Randwick last week, and Pride is confident the quick turnaround will suit.
“I ran him ten days after his first run and he ran well again, so hopefully he can do it,” Pride commented. “He’s racing really honestly and with a lot of determination.”
Pride will also present Aberlour and Gatsby’s in the NSW Jockeys Association Handicap (1300m).
He expects Aberlour to improve with more racing and over longer distances, while believing Gatsby’s can bounce back after struggling in heavy conditions at his latest start.
“Gatsby’s was unlucky the other day because he was trapped wide, but I also wouldn’t run him in those (heavy) conditions again,” Pride advised. “He’s back on reasonable ground with his blinkers back on.”
With another blank whiteboard ready to be filled, Pride embarks on a new campaign, aiming to convert ambitious targets into another successful season.
Find the latest racing markets for the Congratulations James McDonald Handicap.