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Rachael Price, the daughter and stable foreperson for her father Robert Price, will pay particular attention to the performance of Druid on their home track at Nowra on Sunday.

Rachael is a part-owner of the eight-year-old gelding who steps out in the Isuzu The Ute Benchmark 60 Handicap over 1400m.

“My daughter only lets certain people ride her horses and I’ve been on him in trackwork,” Robert Price said. “He’s done extremely well. I’m very happy with him. Hopefully he can win for us Sunday.”

Druid looks extremely well-placed in Sunday’s event and is a winner in Saturday metropolitan class.

“He looks grades above them,” Price said of the son of Bite the Bullet. “All he needs is a dry track and he’ll be in the thick of it. We just need a bit of luck with the big weight and wide barrier.”

Druid has drawn barrier nine and was allotted 62kg. Price has engaged 1.5kg claiming apprentice Yusuke Ichikawa for the six-time winning gelding. Ichikawa is indentured to Tim Martin in Sydney: “The kid rides good,” Price added.

Druid is unusual in that most of the Bite the Bullet progeny love wet tracks.

“Not him,” Price said. “We had him in at the right time of the year last preparation and he ran a bottler first-up but he got a quarter crack in his heel and it buggered him up. We had to spell him again. He’s flying at the moment.”

Druid’s problem occurred after the gelding finished third to Champing over 1200m at Kembla Grange on August 4. He was turned out for 193 days.

Druid resumed this campaign with a 3.8 lengths seventh to Zin Zan Eddie over 1250m at Canterbury Park on February 13 then was beaten 3.2 lengths into eighth behind Kiaola over 1350m at Wyong on March 7, but his Wyong run was far better than it looked on paper.

“He had no luck at Wyong from the wide barrier (11). He got caught deep throughout but hit the line hard,” Price said.

Price picked up Druid as a maiden galloper from Grahame Begg. The gelding has recorded six wins and nine placings from 48 starts earning $137,555 prizemoney.