Red Aces secures Victoria Derby berth after winning the Byerley Handicap at Flemington
Red Aces confirmed trainer Nick Ryan’s opinion he is a Derby prospect when he qualified for the staying event with victory in the Byerley Handicap at Flemington.
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Flemington trainer Nick Ryan was thinking about the Victoria Derby well before talented two-year-old Red Aces qualified for the blue-riband event via Saturday’s Byerley Handicap.
The 1800m contest offered a Victoria Derby ballot exemption to the winner.
“We’ve got 15 weeks (until the Derby). I’ve already thought about it,” Ryan said.
“I think now we’ve got the pleasure of focusing on that one race.”
Red Aces earned a berth in November’s $2m feature when he outlasted favourites Politely Dun ($2.80) and Stay Silent ($3.20) to score by three-quarters of a length.
Ryan said his stepfather JJ Gordon bought Red Aces as a yearling, convinced he would develop into a Derby contender.
Red Aces is a son of the 2013 Australian Derby winner Dundeel while his dam is closely related to the 2007 VRC Oaks winner Arapaho Miss and her Oaks-winning daughter Miami Bound.
Red Aces takes the first at Flemington! â@nryanracing@jamieleemottpic.twitter.com/r6QmriMYCs
— 7HorseRacing 🎠(@7horseracing) July 20, 2024
Ryan said Red Aces’ stout pedigree helped him handle the sharp rise in trip from 1300m to the 1800m of the Byerley Handicap.
“We always thought we had a Derby colt,” Ryan said.
“He’s taken a little while but the penny has really dropped.
“That’s a big jump from 13(00m) to 1800 at his second start.
“I just liked the way he knuckled down and his breeding really kicked in over the last furlong so we’ve got a nice staying colt on our hands.
“He was aided by a brilliant ride and he did no work but he’s got an abundance of improvement in him.”
Ryan said he would give Red Aces a break ahead of a spring build-up.
He said the rising three-year-old would have two or three runs at the most before attempting the 2500m of the Victoria Derby on November 2.
“I haven’t really got at him yet so it’s really exciting,” Ryan said.
“We’ll put him away, not for too long … he’s a really good doing, gross colt.
“It’s something to think about anyway.”
TAB prompted Red Aces to $15 in its early Victoria Derby market.
Star Godolphin colt Broadsiding, the winner of the Group 1 Champagne Stakes and JJ Atkins in recent months, is the $6 Derby favourite.
No horse has completed the Byerley Handicap/Victoria Derby double in recent seasons but Johnny Get Angry ran second in the Byerley Handicap before his surprise win in the 2020 Victoria Derby.
Originally published as Red Aces secures Victoria Derby berth after winning the Byerley Handicap at Flemington
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