Ride High on the comeback trail

Co-trainer Clayton Tonkin’s confidence his sidelined harness racing superstar Ride High will make a successful racetrack return has soared.

A “better than expected” scan of Ride High’s troublesome tendon last week thrilled Tonkin, co-trainer Emma Stewart and the vets looking after Australia’s most exciting pacer.

“This is by far the most positive we’ve felt about him getting back to the races. The vet said the scan was so good he thought it was from a different horse,” Tonkin said.

“We can start to get serious now. He’s done so much work in the water-walker and on the treadmill, but now it’s time to get out on the track and build towards fast work again.”

But Tonkin said October’s $300,000 Victoria Cup would come around too soon.

“If all goes well, he might be ready to trial in a couple of months, but there’s not enough time to have him ready for a big race like that,” he said.

The plan is for Ride High to mix stud duties for Alabar Farms with his comeback preparation with Tonkin.

Ride High was the sport’s pin-up pacer before suffering just the second defeat of his career when fifth in the Smoken Up Sprint at Melton on October 3, last year. He was subsequently found to have sustained a tendon injury.

There will be a Ride High flavour to Saturday night’s Kilmore meeting when his baby half-sister, the appropriately-named High Profile, has her first start.

Peter Gleeson bred the filly, who like Ride High, is trained by Stewart and Tonkin. She’s drawn gate one for driver David Moran.

“We like her. She trialled really well at Maryborough last Sunday week,” Tonkin said. “She’s going to make a lovely filly and she’ll be up to all the good races, the only thing I’d say is that she’ll improve a lot on whatever she does this week.

“Ideally, I’d like to have given her another trial, but she’ll have this one run for experience, go for a break and come back for the good races.

“If you need a line on her talent, I think she’ll be right up with our best fillies we had in the Australian Gold series a couple of months back.”

Tonkin also confirmed last season’s superstar juvenile filly Ladies In Red was “only a couple of weeks away from a trial” as she prepares to return from a lengthy spell.

“And Tough Tilly is about to start fast work as well. Most of our best young horses are getting close to racing again,” he said.

While Ride High is Gleeson’s headline act, the owner has a handy “second-stringer” with Stewart and Tonkin in proven open-class star Out To Play. He’s won 13 races, ran fifth in the Hunter Cup, contested the Miracle Mile and was spelled after a close second in the Group 1 Riverina Championship final on April 4.

“He’s lived in Ride High’s shadow, but he’s a lovely horse in his own right. He’s no Ride High, but not many are,” Gleeson said.

“He’s pretty close to racing again. He trialled at Melton last Monday night and might have another trial or two before you see him at the races.”

By Adam Hamilton