Prince shows promise on championship trail

The latest round of Country Championship Preview action unfolds at Thursday’s feature Wagga meeting, and a tough five-year-old is set to lower the boom on one of the new sprinting stars around the Riverina.

Unique Prince, a still lightly raced and improving gelding in the Matt Dale stable, takes his second step in the new prep on a specifically chartered Country Championship trail.

Already with three wins and three placings from only 13 starts, Unique Prince returned to the track off a six-month spell 17 days ago in a preview edition at his Goulburn home.

And on something of a shifting and hard to read Soft surface, the son of Shaft chased home gallantly from a midfield position behind dominant front-running winner and hot favourite Iconic Dame.

Simply, the run of Unique Prince under a hefty 58kg was way better than it looks on paper. He had only a very quiet trial on the south coast leading in, and had to concede weight to the hard-fit favourite, who was third-up and coming back from two encouraging runs in much deeper highway company.

In fact, Iconic Dame may quickly prove one of the better NSW country-based performers up to 1400m, and that form theory will be put to the rest when Unique Prince tackles in-form and emerging Wagga mare Kappy’s Angel, who has won three of her last four, each time powering home from midfield positions.

Kappy’s Angel gets her biggest career test at this meeting, rising from BM 58 level to Class 4 Championship Preview grade. While getting hefty weight relief in this company, she’s drawn much wider out.

Another runner eyeing three wins on the bounce is Albury-based five-year-old Jack’s All Magic, who reloads off a six-week break, and strong trial at this track.