Trainer.
Mick Price.
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Since taking out his license in 1991, Mick Price has firmly established himself as one of the leading racehorse trainers in Victoria. Spending 13 years as a stable hand between the ages of 18 and 31, Mick worked learning the craft from some of the best of that era including three of the greatest trainers Bob Hoysted, George Hanlon and John Meagher. From there he took up a position as stable foreman for the fledging private operation of the big spending and flamboyant Floyd Podgornik in lavishly built stables near the Epsom training centre and working alongside Richard Freedman set about training the 44 horses entrusted to them of which 37 won in the next 12 months including the 1990 Group 1 Caulfield Guineas with Centro. Mick’s first horse and winner was Arch Turn who he trained for a couple of mates from the local football club which had three duck eggs next to his name but Mick won nine races with him over his career. Mick was then given Uncle Chuck which won first up at Sandown and then bought Toll Belle from Bart Cummings who went on to win the Group 3 Queens Cup at Flemington in 1993.The rest they say is history and Mick is building up an outstanding array of top City winners and Group performers. Mick impressive list of GROUP 1 Winners include Slavonic who stormed home to win the 1999 Group 1 Railway Stakes in Perth by three lengths, Rustic Dream who won the 1999 Futurity Stakes narrowly over Al Mansour, Perfectly Ready (which railed up beautifully to win the Goodwood Hcp in Adelaide), Red Dazzler( who did likewise to win the Toorak Hcp(both in 2006),Pompeii Ruler who brilliantly won the Australian Cup in March 07,and Rubiscent which caused an upset in virtually leading all of the way to win the Underwood Stakes also of 2007.2008 proved to be a defining year for Mick as he captured further GROUP 1 successes via Shinzig who won the C.F.Orr Stakes, Light Fantastic who won the Australian Guineas, Alamosa who captured the Toorak Hcp and Gallica who won the Thousand Guineas.However,if 2008 was big 2009 proved to be even bigger with multiple stakes successes including 4 GROUP 1 winners- 2 on the same day in Adelaide when Gallica and Bel Mer saluted in the Australasian Oaks and Robert Sangster Stakes respectively on the 21st March 2009.Old war horse Pompeii Ruler would go on to win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in April 2009 and Mick would round the year off by winning the Underwood Stakes (as he did in 07) with Heart of Dreams.2010 saw Velocitea win the Goodwood,2011 the Coolmore Classic with Aloha and 2012 another GROUP 1 via the deeds of Samaready who won the Blue Diamond Stakes and followed that up by winning the GROUP 1 Moir Stakes in Sep 2013.Lankan Rupee emerged in 2014 and arguably was one of Mick’s best ever sprinters winning the GROUP 1 Oakleigh Plate in February 2014,Newmarket Hcp in March 2014,T.J.Smith in April 2014 and Manikato Stakes in October 2014 a dominant year of GROUP 1 victories! Lankan Rupee re-emerged in 2015 and followed up with a terrific win in the GROUP 1 Lightning Stakes in February of that year. All in all 5 GROUP 1 victories for Lankan Rupee stamping himself as an outstanding world rated Sprinter and Mick culminated 2015 by un earthing a terrific staying prospect in Tarzino a devastating Winner of the 2015 GROUP 1 VRC Derby. 2016 was just around the corner and commenced just as well as 2015 finished when Extreme Choice brilliantly won the 2016 Blue Diamond on home soil in February. A few weeks later Tarzino earned GROUP 1 honour again this time in the Rosehill Guineas and Mick was fortunate to close out 2016 with two further GROUP 1 victories via his Blue Diamond heroine in Extreme Choice who won the GROUP 1 Moir Stakes in September AND Flying Artie who was a brilliant winner of the stallion making Coolmore Stud Stakes in October. Both of these horses Extreme Choice and Flying Artie retired shortly after and are now enjoying life at Stud at Newgate Farm. Mick has also trained an outstanding array of Stakes performers that include the likes of Vocabularly, Kempinsky, French Bid, Halibery, Intelligent Star, Mr Trickster, World Peace, Kylikwong, Tanith, Chattanooga, Amtrak, Pure Harmony, Doubting, Schilling, Gotta Have Heart, Sound Journey, Inkster, Vivacious Spirit, Pre Eminence, Corsaire, Miss Maren, Rightfully Yours, Raheeb, Nine Tales, Old Jock, Dubleanny, Nakaaya, Vivid Vixen, Testa My Patience, Proliferate, Instinction, Malasun, Al Aneed, Eximius, Isabella Snowflake, Jazz Song, Tango’s Daughter, Moonovermanhattan, Royal Ocean, Ready For Victory, Jabali, Celtic Tiger, Badawiya, Secret Agenda, Mighty Like, Bassett, Oregon’s Day etc. We have also been fortunate to have achieved GROUP and LISTED success with Mick over the years via our very own United Syndications gallopers La Bella Dame who won the Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes, Group 3 Tranquil Star Stakes and was GROUP 1 placed in the 2002 Thousand Guineas running second beaten a short half head by Macedon Lady, Damselfly winner of the Group 3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes in 2008 and subsequently Stakes placed in the LISTED MSS Security Stakes at Flemington going down a short half head to Kirvinsky in March 2009,Loveyamadly winner of the Listed Abell Stakes in March 2013 and subsequently placed second in both the GROUP 3 Bellmaine Stakes AND the LISTED Doveton Stakes in 2013,our mighty warrior Le Bonsir LISTED winner of the Chandler Macleod Stakes in September 2013 and LISTED Carlyon Stakes Winner in August 2015, also running 4 LISTED seconds, a GROUP 3 third and a terrific GROUP 1 third in the 2013 Moir Stakes behind Samaready and Buffering! Royal Snitzel a Metropolitan Winner and 3 time GROUP 3 place getter and Onpicalo a multiple City Winner and twice Stakes Placed! To date Mick has won 6 Stakes races for United Syndications (including 3 GROUP races) and achieved 2 GROUP 1 placing’s with La Bella Dame and Le Bonsir!
In 2003 Mick trained the trifecta in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview with Halibery, Gaelic Princess and Roedean filling all three places while World Peace took out the race for the stable in 2004.Mick kept his fantastic record with two-year-olds intact by winning both the colts and fillies divisions of the Blue Diamond Prelude’s in 2005 with Perfectly Ready and Doubting. Mick’s successes over many years (as the figures below show) is clear evidence that he is one of the most consistent trainers in Australia and one still gets the distinct feeling that his greatest successes may still even be ahead of him:
1/8/02-31/7/03-Winners 71-City Winners-32. |
