News

Price Happy With Boom Colts

16th Feb 2016

Breeding and Racing - Tuesday, 16th February 2016

Melbourne trainer Mick Price has provided an update on his two leading Blue Diamond Stakes prospects in Flying Artie and Extreme Choice and insists he cannot separate the pair.

Flying Artie, who will be ridden by Damien Oliver in the Gr1 Blue Diamond (1200m) on Saturday week, looked a top-class colt when finishing powerfully to land the Gr3 Blue Diamond Prelude Colts & Geldings (1100m) on the weekend, while Extreme Choice has also stamped himself as a precociously talented juvenile winning both his starts hitherto, including a 4.5-length romp in the Gr3 Chairman's Stakes (1000m) ten days ago.

Price said both 2YOs would go into the $1.5 million juvenile feature at Caulfield on 27 February at the top of their game.

"It looked like a pretty solid run from him [Flying Artie]. Just looking at it I thought the horse would feel it a bit...but based on what I see this morning he's a happy horse. He's pulled up well," Price told Melbourne's Radio Sport National yesterday.

"There's not a lot between them to tell you the truth. I have two nice horses and the timing of the race is right for both of them...both horses will go into the race with very good chances."

He added: "You can make a case for both horses but I guess February 27th will tell."

Extreme Choice will be ridden by Craig Newitt and Price believes the son of Not A Single Doubt will run "a super race", notwithstanding the fact that he will be stepping up to six furlongs for the first time.

"I'm pretty confident he will run a strong 1200 metres," Price said.

"He has a good set of lungs on him. He doesn't give me the impression that he puts in the short ones [strides] at the end of 1000 metres and he's a perfectly sound and fit two-year-old."