Gerald Ryan stable getting ready for bigger things next season
Gerald Ryan will send a strong team to Randwick for the final Saturday metro meeting of the season as he prepares to welcome back some exciting youngsters next week.
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Trainer Gerald Ryan is excited to welcome back some of his stable’s most exciting prospects early next week but is hoping to strike gold with a quartet of up-and-going talent at Royal Randwick this Saturday.
Ryan, who trains alongside Sterling Alexiou, has stakes performed two-year-olds King Of Pop, Sanctified and Skyhook all having their first public hitouts at Rosehill Gardens trials on Tuesday.
Diddle Dumpling, Green Shadows, Silentsar and High Blue Sea will fly the flag for the stable at the final Saturday metropolitan meeting of the season.
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Green Shadows ($7.50) is looking to sign off on this preparation on a high note with Ryan and Alexiou poised to pull up stumps after the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1600m) to focus on the $750,000 Little Dance in November.
The son of the stable’s former star Menari hasn’t won this preparation but continues to hold his form and can capitalise on a good draw with Alysha Collett aboard.
“Green Shadows has been consistent,” Ryan said.
“He overraced a bit the other day so we took the blinkers off him.
“He seems all right. He is holding his form and we will probably give him a break after Saturday so we will get him back for the Little Dance.”
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Diddle Dumpling ($7.50) can bring up a winning hat-trick to start this preparation in the Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m).
Ryan admits the outside draw is the major concern and will assess if it warrants running the daughter of Deep Field from a tricky draw with 3kg claimer William Stanley aboard.
“There is a bit of speed underneath, she might have to work too hard and if you go back there is every possible she will be caught three wide,” he said.
“The rail out with a soft track and she is reasonably well weighted after the claim.
“This is a tad harder than what she faced the other day but she can’t do any more than what she has done.”
Silentsar ($14) and High Blue Sea ($23) will line up together in the Benchmark 78 (1300m).
A peak performance is expected from Silentsar third-up from a break while track conditions will play a significant part in High Blue Sea’s chances.
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“Silentsar has done a lot of metropolitan racing but he has never raced at Randwick,” Ryan said.
“Third-up now and he drops 4kg in weight from the other day.
“He is an on-pacer and there doesn’t look to be huge pressure in the race.
“High Blue Sea will run provided the track doesn’t get any worse than what it is.
“He is going all right and probably needed the two runs back so far and Tuesday morning was as good as I’ve seen him work this time.”
The excitement for the upcoming spring will go up a notch on Tuesday morning as Ryan and Alexiou’s next gen of stars line up.
King Of Pop is coming off a successful autumn that saw him win the Group 3 Black Opal Stakes at Canberra while finishing runner up to North England in the Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes.
He lines up in a 900m heat while Skyhook contests the next heat over the same trip.
Skyhook won the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes before going for a break following his midfield finish in the Group 1 Golden Slipper.
Group 3 Canonbury Stakes victor Blitzburg has his second trial over 900m while stakes performer galloper Sanctified will also have a tune up on the morning.
The new season three-year-olds make up a string of promising youngsters, alongside the lightly-raced Grand Eagle, that will get the chance to measure up in the spring.
“They are nice colts and were looked after as two-year-olds really and have seemed to have come back well,” Ryan said.
“They all had a jumpout on the other day and we quite good.”
Originally published as Gerald Ryan stable getting ready for bigger things next season