"He's left a huge hole, not just in our stable, but in our lives".
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It will be a bittersweet occasion for Robert Price and son Luke at Kembla on Saturday, as they saddle up Verbek and Mr Rock It in the Midway Handicap, named in honour of last year's The Gong champion Count De Rupee.
The star gelding, who finished second in the Golden Eagle and earnt more than $2.5 million in prize money, collapsed and died during trackwork earlier this year, devastating the stable and family.
It was perhaps the making of the reputation of The Gong as a $1 million metropolitan-standard race, to have an Illawarra horse, trainers and connections beating the nation's top stables.
A rising three-year-old gelding, Mr Rock It will have Brock Ryan aboard, who rode Count De Rupee to glory last year.
"He's left a huge hole, not just in our stable, but in our lives," Robert Price told the Mercury, when reflecting on Count De Rupee's career at trackwork at Kembla Grange on Tuesday.
"He's left a great legacy, we were at the sales this year and we were quite active, we've got a lovely bunch of babies coming through and that's all off the back of Count De Rupee.
"He was a very easy horse to like, very approachable, very pliable, though it was hard to get close to him because (son) Luke had him under double wraps.
"He's been the pick of our horses in our time as a trainer, he had the world at his feet. He could have gone on and won six or seven million dollars, that's just unbelievable."
The Gong win was Ryan's greatest career triumph so far, sliding across from barrier 13 to find an ideal spot and kick clear in the straight, winning by more than a length.
With two genuine chances in the Count De Rupee Midway race, it would be an emotional moment if either Verbek or Mr Rock It were able to take it out.
Verbek was in traffic last time out at Rosehill and finished sixth behind Either Oar, but has been around the mark all preparation and Luke Price was keen for jockey Chad Schofield to be positive and sit on the pace from another inside draw.
Mr Rock It steps up in grade, his biggest test at his eighth start.
"He's a promising three-year-old, in the deep end," Luke Price told Sky Racing on Thursday. ''He's a horse on the way up and hopefully he's getting to the Gold Coast (for Magic Millions) in January as well, I'm confident he'll be very hard to beat."
Our Bellagio Miss had a spot in the feature sprint race, The Warra, on Saturday, but will instead run in the Benchmark 78 Handicap named after last year's Warra winner Eleven Eleven.
"We got her after this meeting last year," Robert Price said.
"We've had mixed results with her, but when you get any second-hand horse, you need to learn all the their ins and outs.
"She's the sort of mare that likes the sting out of the track and looking at the weather forecast, we're not going to get that but she goes really well fresh."
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
