Rain Affair Still In The Racing Mix
- Monday, 25 May 2015 08:17
Rain Affair's days of running in Group One races are probably over but while the seven-year-old enjoys his job, Joe Pride will keep training him to compete.
The gelding lines up as the highest-rated of nine entries in Saturday's Octagonal Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill.
Although he hasn't registered a win since the Group Three Missile Stakes (1200m) in August 2013, Rain Affair has shown Pride no signs he has had enough.
Rain Affair.
"He hasn't got that killer punch anymore but he's the soundest he's ever been," Pride said.
"And he just loves being a part of it all. He loves racing and being in the stable so there are no plans to retire him."
Rain Affair has four Group One seconds on his record and was not disgraced when fifth in the TJ Smith Stakes won by Chautauqua in April.
With rain expected in Sydney later in the week, the free-wheeling front runner will get his preferred surface.
He will be accompanied on the float from Warwick Farm by close relation Modesty, a maiden winner on a soft track at Gosford earlier this month.
By I Am Invincible, the three-year-old is out of Special Test, a sister of Rain Affair's dam I Believe.
"Don breeds most of his horses from that family," Pride said.
"She is a nice filly and we will take her to Rosehill. A lot of the horses from the family handle the wet tracks and she seems to have inherited that trait."
Modesty runs in a Benchmark 75 for fillies over 1400 metres.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Pheidon heads the entries for the open 1800m race as he tries to bounce back from his 11th in the Scone Cup.
Pheidon was never a winning chance in the Listed race won by Tales Of Grimm.
Before Scone, Pheidon won over 1600 metres at Warwick Farm, beating Rugged Cross who is one of four Chris Waller-trained nominations in the Group Two Eagle Farm Cup (2200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
