Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The story goes that young trainer Luke Price has been devoting more time to one of his own horses than the total time he has spent riding his father's 10 horses in trackwork.
Well, at least that's how Robert tells the yarn. "He's probably a little bit jealous," Price jnr joked.
And a fair bit proud. While Robert's jibes might be in jest, the chance for the family to have a potential topliner is no laughing matter.
Ever since Luke, who only ever keeps a couple of horses in his own name, quipped he liked a hulking laidback horse minding his own business in a spelling paddock the path has been set in stone.
"Two weeks later they sent me a text message and said, 'he's yours'," Price said before Man Of Choice tackles the group 3 Gloaming Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.
"Initially he wasn't coming to me and I took a slower one and got the nod for this one as well. He's certainly come along at a good time. I've only got a couple in training myself, but play a big part in dad's stable. When you're only training two or three, it's good to have a standout horse like him."
Man Of Choice, owned in similar interests to Price's former group-placed mare Belle De Coeur, comes hot on the heels of his whirlwind ride with the former stable star.
Belle De Coeur was placed at group 2 level under the care of the astute trainer before she was whisked away to Chris Waller's all-conquering stable and subsequently banned from racing in Australia after a second bleeding attack.
And now Price has set lofty goals for Man Of Choice, who trounced moderate opposition at Kembla Grange last start.
A couple of provincial wins may not be too much to crow about, but four of the Gloaming Stakes' 12 hopefuls are still maidens.
"The two races we've aimed at have been the Gloaming Stakes and Spring Champion [Stakes]," Price said. "Whether we go beyond that, we'll let the horse tell us.
"I'd like to see how that Spring Stakes form stacks up, but those horses are also on an eight-day back-up. Gai's horse [Clash Of Clans] led the other day and we've drawn a perfect barrier in three.
"If my horse switches off and he can let down like he did at Kembla Grange and pull off a sectional like that, it doesn't matter what race he is in he will be hard to beat.
"I've always liked him from day one. Once he gets over 1800 to 2000 metres in these type of races he's going to come into his own."
Ladbrokes was shopping Man Of Choice as a $6 second pick on Thursday evening for the Gloaming Stakes with Waller's Vanbrugh topping betting charts at $3.40.
