While the Epsom Handicap is no longer a consideration, the $10 million Golden Eagle is very much on trainer Gerald Ryan’s radar for his sprinter-miler, Skyhook.
The four-year-old is set to resume in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill this Saturday. This timing effectively rules him out of the Epsom Handicap (1600m), which is held three weeks later.
“He won’t get to the Epsom. If he runs Saturday here then he’d have to run again in the Shannon (Stakes) and back up. He’s not a back-up horse,” Ryan stated.
“The main aim is to get him to the Golden Eagle. It’s just how we get there.
“The horse doesn’t cop heaps of work, but I will have to give him three of four runs prior to going there.”
The initial step towards that major goal is the Theo Marks Stakes, where Skyhook has drawn the widest barrier, 15. However, Ryan is not overly concerned, citing the horse’s inherent speed and residual fitness from a Queensland winter campaign, suggesting he is well enough prepared to win first-up.
Skyhook has always been a horse of considerable talent, having won the Pago Pago Stakes as a two-year-old and competed in the Golden Slipper. He further demonstrated his class at the end of his three-year-old season by winning the Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) and delivering a dominant performance in the Gunsynd Classic (1600m) at Eagle Farm.
Ryan believes that some adjustments to his training regimen have been instrumental in Skyhook’s consistent Group-level performances.
“Between the Arrowfield (3YO Sprint) and Hawkesbury Guineas, I changed a few things with his training, and it really worked,” Ryan explained.
“I started working him sharper, and just did some things like jumped him over a couple of hurdles.
“He’s pretty forward. He only had nineteen days off then three weeks of pre-training at Newington Farm with (former horse trainer) Kacy Fogden. She looked after him up there and he came back in really good order, and he’s had the two good trials as well.”
Meanwhile, Just Party has been withdrawn from the Theo Marks Stakes and will instead compete in Saturday’s Listed Tontonan Stakes (1400m) at Flemington. Ryan anticipates that the gelding will perform well at the Victorian track.
Having won the Goulburn Cup (1400m) when resuming, Just Party is eligible for The Big Dance (1600m) on Melbourne Cup Day, though his connections are reportedly hesitant about pursuing this option.
“We always thought he’d run a journey, and he’s been placed over 1600 metres a couple of times, but we’ve decided to train him as a shorter course horse and see how he goes,” Ryan commented.
“It’s his second preparation as a gelding as well. That can make a difference.
“He’ll come home after Saturday. There’s nothing else down there for him for a couple of weeks, so we’ll bring him home and decide after that.”
On Thursday, Just Party was priced at $4.20 for the Tontonan Stakes, while Skyhook was the $3 favourite in the Theo Marks Stakes markets. For those looking to back Skyhook in the Theo Marks Stakes, consider checking out the latest Australian betting sites for the best odds.
