Ready to Run Quinella in $5m King Charles III Stakes

Less than a month out from the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, graduates Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) and Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) put the sale up in lights with a superb quinella in the A$5m Group One King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.  

Ceolwulf has now scored back-to-back triumphs in the King Charles and has earned A$9.1m from a 24-race career that has produced six wins and seven placings. He was bought by trainer Joe Pride and part-owner Leighton Howl for $170,000 from the 2022 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka. Ceolwulf has earned 60 times his purchase price.

Runner-up Mr Brightside was offered with a $50,000 reserve by Phoenix Park at the 2019 Ready to Run Sale. He was passed in. He has now had 47 starts for 20 wins, 16 placings and A$18.8m in stakes – 427 times his reserve at the Ready to Run Sale. Mr Brightside has won 10 Group One races.

Ceolwulf had performed somewhat below top form through the early stages of his five-year-old season, recording a third, two fourths and a sixth from his first four starts. But trainer Joe Pride added blinkers for the King Charles III Stakes on Saturday and Ceolwulf was right back at his breathtaking best.

After racing in midfield, Ceolwulf burst through the inside for jockey Chad Schofield and went clear to win by a length and three-quarters.

“That was absolutely amazing,” Pride said. “I watched it down there with my two daughters, who never come to the racetrack, so it was really special.

“It’s been 12 months of waiting, really. I was here 12 months ago and I thought this is the best horse I’ll ever train, and we spent another 12 months waiting to see that again.

“I'm just glad to see him return to what he is capable of, because his best is better than a lot of the horses that have been beating him.

“We chucked the blinkers on him, it's the first time today he's ever worn them, and it's done the trick. He just needed to find some room in the straight because he was full of running.

“This horse is a long way from being finished, there’s plenty of wins to come. He wins the races that count and gets beaten in a few that I guess don’t count as much.”

Schofield has ridden Ceolwulf to all of his three Group One wins.

“It's a relief as much as anything,” Schofield said. “First up I didn't give him the best ride, but his last couple have been below par.

“But Joe had the ace up his sleeve with the blinkers and he travelled so well today. I knew we were on today. We found a happy spot on the rail and he did the rest.”

The third placegetter in Saturday's King Charles III Stakes was another Kiwi-bred gelding, the Matamata-trained Group One winner Pier (NZ) (Proisir).

The King Charles trifecta capped an outstanding day at Randwick for New Zealand-breds. They had previously finished first and third in the A$20m Group One The Everest (1200m) with Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) and Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto), while Karaka graduates Linebacker (NZ) (Super Seth) and Lord Penman (NZ) (Contributer) filled the quinella in the A$1m Silver Eagle (1300m).

The 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 November.

Vendor	Riversley Park Ltd
Purchaser	Mr JW Pride/Mr LJ Howl (New South Wales)
Breeding	Tavistock – Las Brisas
Sale	Lot 146, 2022 Ready to Run Sale, $170,000
Breeder	B J Lindsay MNZM & Mrs J E A Lindsay
Owner	Ungar Family, Mr W M Shelton, Mrs S E Shelton, Mr P A Young, Mr A J Rix, Mr B D Playford, Mr D Perkins, Mr L J Howl, Team T S A No. 2, Mr N J Pinner