Prince rules again

Celtic Prince’s run of form has come as no surprise to trainer Bjorn Baker, who expects the four-year-old to make his mark in top staying company. The O’Reilly gelding won for the third time on his current preparation when successful over 2400 metres on the Kensington track at Randwick yesterday.

“He is a horse I bought at the Ready To Run sale in New Zealand and is a full-brother to Said Com,” Baker said. “I liked him for a long time, he didn’t quite live up to that early but he is starting to hopefully deliver.”

A WS graduate, Celtic Prince was passed in as a yearling in 2011 and is out of the Centaine mare Centa Belt, who is a half-sister to the Gr 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Master Belt and the stakes winners Buckle Your Belt and Minnie Belt. The dam’s third foal is the Chris Waller-trained Said Com, a $290,000 Karaka purchase out of WS’s 2010 Premier draft, who has won four times and finished runner-up in the Gr 1 Royal Randwick Guineas.