Stallion nearing racetrack return

Former harness racing superstar pacer Soho Tribeca (American Ideal) is poised for a dramatic return to the racetrack.

Burrumbeet trainer-drive Michael Stanley confirmed the comeback plans on SEN Track’s Wednesday Night Trackside, saying the horse had been in work for more than four months and was ready to trial this Sunday at Maryborough.

Soho Tribeca last raced competitively in the 2019 Italian Cup, with that appearance coming close to a year after his prior start in the Sunshine Sprint at Albion Park. It was in that Group 2 feature that the stallion fractured a leg.

Since then, he has embarked on a stud career that has seen him serve more than 200 mares.

“(I’ve had) a great relationship with Luke McCarthy over a number of years and he successfully had a horse like Bling It On and For A Reason, and even recently he has been pre-training and now racing Lochinvar Art and Jilliby Kung Fu while they were in the middle of their stud duties. So that’s what first brought it to mind,” Stanley said.

“But just seeing him in the paddock. He just had a spring in his step, which he never had when we first tried to get him back from the injury originally.

“(Owner) Rob (Watson) and I spoke, and we just thought that if we are ever going to try it again, it’s now or never.

“Obviously with the Inter Dominion being in Victoria this year, it gives you that little bit of a fairy tale if you can get him back to anywhere near that level.”

Soho Tribeca was a one-time Inter Dominion favourite and star pacer that raced right around the country through 2015-2019. His biggest victories came while trained in Western Australia by Bryan Cousins and Kim Prentice, with the Gold Nugget, WA Pacing Cup and Vicbred Super Series 4YO Entires and Geldings Final his three triumphs at Group 1 level.

WA PACING CUP REPLAY

He joined Stanley for the last nine starts of his career, with placings in the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile, and a victory in the Kilmore Pacing Cup coming before injury struck in Queensland.

“The injury that he had was bone so anyone that’s had breaks or that of their bone knows that it does heal better with more time. Maybe we rushed him back a little bit originally and it was still a bit green,” Stanley said.

“Last time we had him up when we raced him, which I think was the Italian Cup there three years ago to try and get him back, he just didn’t work with the sharpness that he once did and just sort of lacked that bit of zest.

“So far this time in, even though that he’s an older horse, he’s really enjoying his work, he’s got a spring in his step, he’s sharp in his work and we’re really close to stepping his work up seriously.”

Soho Tribeca has won 21 of 59 race starts for more than $1.1million in prizemoney.