Speak The Truth Photo by Dan Costello
EMERGING Queensland star Speak The Truth is right where trainer Shannon Price wants him ahead of his New Zealand raid.
The Miracle Mile placegetter sparkled in an Albion Park trial yesterday and heads to Sydney by road tonight (Wednesday) ahead of a flight to Auckland on Sunday.
Speak The Truth is the lone Queensland representative and one of only three Aussies – Victorian pair Better Eclipse and Rock N Roll Doo are the others – contesting the $NZ1mil Race By Grins at Cambridge on Friday week.
"We've had to think on our feet a bit with the (bad) weather forecast here and in Sydney, so we took the risk of missing work out of the equation by going to the trial yesterday," Price said.
"He can get a bit above himself, so we wanted a solid hit-out, but he shied at a couple of clerk of the course horses with a lap to go and sort of took off on Adam (Sanderson, driver), so he went a bit quicker than we'd planned."
Speak The Truth blazed a 1min53.5sec mile rate for 1660m in the trial, sizzling home in 54.3 and 27.3sec.
"He's in a great place. He won't need to do a lot more by way of serious work between now and the race. It's more about keeping him up to the mark," Price said.
"We'll have him down to Sydney nice and early to settle there and break up the trip before he gets on the plane Sunday morning to Auckland."
"It's exciting. It's shaping up to be a great race, and it'll be a buzz to be part of it."
"We feel we've got a horse good enough on what he's done in recent starts and now, like so many of the key runners, we're sweating on getting a good barrier."
The barrier draw for the Race By Grins and accompanying TAB Trot will be held on Monday.
Price confirmed Speak The Truth's NZ trip would extend beyond the Race By Grins.
"Yes, he'll stay for the Taylor Mile and Messenger the couple of weeks after the Grins, too," she said.
"It makes sense when you're going that far and he's still on the up so it's good to have some other targets."
NZ is looming as a regular hunting ground for Speak The Truth.
"We're looking very seriously at taking him back for the NZ Cup in November, too," Price said.
"In fact, I've tentatively got some stabling booked in at Christchurch.
"I know it means we'll probably bump into Leap To Fame as it seems he's also being set for the NZ Cup, but so be it."
"If we target the NZ Cup, he'll have a good spell after these NZ races and miss the Queensland winter features. And if he goes to the NZ Cup, we wouldn't bring him back and go to the Inter Dominion, either."
