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Join our fantasy SRP leaguePride: Why you should steer clear of Ceolwulf early this prep
Connor Scanlon • January 28th, 2026 3:34 pm
The Joseph Pride-trained Ceolwulf has established himself as one of Australia’s best middle-distance runners, winning four Group 1s across 1600m in the past two springs.
However, there are two glaring vulnerabilities which Pride has noticed in his five-year-old:
One – the son of Tavistock doesn’t run well early in his preparations.
And two – if there isn’t a strong tempo in a race, then Ceolwulf will struggle.
“Yeah, 100% (he is vulnerable),” Pride told SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.
“Two things - he needs a good tempo in his races, and he needs racing at his peak.
“He's not one of those horses that shows up in his first couple of runs.
“We've seen the deeper he gets into the prep he's won four Group 1s, and he's won all four of those Group 1s as the last two runs of those two preparations - that's not a coincidence.
“(But) that strong tempo (factor), that's out of my control, not much I can do there.”
In fact, the trainer is entirely writing off any of Ceolwulf’s early runs in future preparations.
“I'm pretty relaxed and casual about this horse in the first few runs - I'm writing them off,” Pride admitted.
“Wins will be bonuses.”
With fan favourite Pride Of Jenni confirmed to be racing in the Group 1 All-Star Mile at Flemington on March 7, confirming a strong tempo in that $2.5 million race, Pride is still against running his gelding in that race due to the All-Star Mile coming too early in the autumn for Ceolwulf.
“It's certainly crossed my mind, but I think what I'd be doing by aiming at that (All-Star Mile) is certainly jeopardising the rest of his preparation, (due to) having him potentially peaking so early in a prep,” revealed Pride.
“An All-Star Mile would have to be second-up with him, there'd be no other way he could go. I just don't think I want to put all my eggs in that basket.
“Having him ready to run in that race and get close to his peak, as rich a race as it is, is not worth it to me.”
Regarding Ceolwulf’s main targets for the Autumn Racing Carnival, the trainer revealed that the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington and Group 1 Queen Elizabeth (2000m) at Randwick will be targeted for the brown.
Pride: “If he's coming to Melbourne, and he quite likely is, it'll be for the Australian Cup.”
Hall: “And then after the Aussie Cup, is the Queen Elizabeth his main aim?
Pride: “Yes, so fitting in with what he's done in the past.
“They would be the last two runs of his preparation and hopefully yielding another two Group 1s.”
When looking at the 2026 Spring Racing Carnival, Pride admitted that while he would love to run Ceolwulf in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m), completing the three-peat of the Group 1 King Charles (1600m) is an even more appealing target.
“Maybe (the Cox Plate), but the lure of winning three King Charles is pretty strong for us as well.
“The trouble is, unless it changes this year, which I'm sure it probably won't, is the fact that the King Charles is the week before the Cox Plate.
“It's a shame – it would be a great Cox Plate lead up, but the two states can't seem to get together on that one.”
The four-time Group 1 winner’s last start was on November 8, 2025, in the Champions Mile.
Since then, the gelding has been relaxing in the paddock and recently returned for a trial across 900m on January 27.
Speaking on how Ceolwulf is travelling, Pride revealed that he is looking incredible ahead of the autumn.
“(He’s) super, (I’m) really happy with him!” Pride exclaimed.
“The answer to these questions is quite often never one thing, but he was disappointing last autumn – he was bigger and weighed a lot more.
“I think he was racing up in the 520kg’s, and I think he was 530kg when he kicked off his preparation, and previously he'd raced down around 515kg, and I backed that in the spring - I think that was the best version of him.
“Bigger isn't always better, and he's a leaner version again this autumn, which I think is the right version of him.
“I’m very happy with the way he's coming up.”
Ceolwulf is the $4 favourite with Sportsbet to win the Australian Cup while being at $10 to win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
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