Emerging sprinter General Salute hunting winning hat-trick in Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes

Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou have ambitions of heading to the Queensland winter carnival for a Group 1 crack with an in-form sprinter chasing a third win in a row this weekend.

General Salute is favourite for the Hall Mark Stakes at Rand. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Emerging sprinter General Salute can enhance his credentials for a Group 1 interstate raid when he hunts a winning hat-trick in Saturday’s Group 3 $250,000 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick.

Trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou have a potential Stradbroke Handicap tilt on their radar for their in-form four-year-old, who will attempt to maintain his perfect record this preparation on the final day of Sydney’s autumn carnival.

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General Salute backed up a dominant first-up victory at Kembla Grange with a slashing effort from back in the pack to score in the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) on day one of The Championships.

The son of Russian Revolution is a $3.75 favourite with the bookies to continue his winning run.

“He is going to meet them all worse at the weights (53kg up to 58kg) than last start because it is set weights with penalties but he has done well,” Ryan said.

“His two runs this time have been good and on his work this morning, he certainly hasn’t gone backwards.

“We’ve happy been happy with him.”

General Salute has always been a horse that had plenty of potential but is only starting to deliver on it this preparation.

General Salute swoops over the top of them to win the Group 3 EGroup Security Star Kingdom Stakes!

Punters get the cash after the @RARacing_ galloper was backed from $6-$4.20 favourite 🤑🤑🤑@G1TySchil with a well-timed run 🏇 pic.twitter.com/bvsVsWDfXK

— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) April 1, 2025

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He spent more than 10 months away from the races before this campaign battling foot issues and has since has put the issue behind him.

“He had a quarter crack in one of his front heels so they had to cut it right away and let his foot grow right out,” Ryan said.

“A lot of people say he’s improved since he was a gelding but he was a gelding last preparation, it was only that we kept having foot trouble with him so we cut it right away and let it grow out.

“It’s the old saying, no foot, no horse.”

Ryan and Alexiou will keep their options open for General Salute but have indicated the gelding will get his chance to earn a start in Queensland’s most coveted sprint.

“We will see how he goes on Saturday, there is a race at Scone for him and those races up in Queensland so he will certainly be aimed at some of them after Saturday,” Ryan said.

“He will be entered in a Stradbroke. I don’t know about a Doomben 10,000 or anything at weight-for-age but certainly a Stradbroke.

“There is plenty of other sprint races off the top there that he could be right in.”

Originally published as Emerging sprinter General Salute hunting winning hat-trick in Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes