A change of fortune at the barrier draw has been welcomed by Joe Pride as he strives to help Gatsby’s break an eighteen-month hiatus from the winner’s list.

The four-year-old captured the 2024 The Rosebud (1100m) when in the care of Chris Waller, and while he has twice placed in black type grade since, he hasn’t managed to get his head in front.

Finishing midfield from a wide draw at his first start for his new trainer earlier this month, Gatsby’s will jump from barrier three in Saturday’s Racing And Sports Handicap (1200m) at Randwick and Pride is hoping for another encouraging performance.

“I have been really happy with him,” Pride said.

“His run was solid the other day from a bad gate. I was going to run him last Saturday, but he had another bad gate and a heavy track, so I kept him at home.”

Gatsby’s best runs have been when fresh and while Pride has done his homework on the new stable addition, he is equally adamant he doesn’t like to be influenced by past patterns.

Having made a fist of reviving the careers of tried horses, Pride says he prefers to start with a clean slate.

“Whenever I get a new horse to the stable, I look at their form, but I try not to read too much into what they’ve done in the past,” he said.

“At the end of the day, they’re in a different environment, being trained differently, fed differently, possibly even ridden differently.

“I don’t want to fall into too many traps. You just judge them off what you see and from what I can see he is coping really well so I’m happy to send him back to the races.”

Chad Schofield has the ride on Gatsby’s, who is a $7.50 chance in an open betting race.

Those assessing the Racing And Sports Handicap can compare the latest Australian betting sites ahead of Saturday’s Randwick meeting.

The post Pride hoping to make Gatsby’s great again first appeared on Just Horse Racing.