Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Gerald Ryan was drawing on the wisdom of the late training great Colin Hayes as he prepares to take on Sheza Alibi with Skyhook in the Golden Eagle after the four-year-old made it back-to-back group 2 wins at Rosehill.
The Written Tycoon entire, a $1.50 favourite, dominated up front under Kerrin McEvoy in the Shannon Stakes (1500m), finishing three lengths ahead of Estadio Mestalla, after claiming the Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) first up two weeks earlier.
Ryan, who trains in partnership with Sterling Alexiou, said the Silver Eagle (1300m) on October 17 at Randwick was the next goal for Skyhook before a likely clash with star mare Sheza Alibi in the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) for four-year-olds on October 31.
“Colin Hayes always told me that when I started training, I used to speak to him a lot, and he said ‘never ever be frightened of one horse’,” Ryan said of going to the Golden Eagle.
“If your horse is fit and well, keep going. You don’t know what the other horse is like.”
Ryan said Skyhook’s winter campaign in Queensland, where he won the group 3 Gunsynd Classic, had “done him the world of good”. He hoped to race the stallion prospect on for years to come.
“I think he is [getting better],” Ryan said.
“At the Gold Coast sales in June, I spoke to John Messara about him because they bred him and I said about running him as a four-year-old. He said, ‘well how do you reckon he is?’ And I’d spent two-and-a-half, three weeks up there with him on my own and I said, ‘I reckon he’s getting better’.
“Right from when he came back – he spelled at Newington up there and Kacy [Fogden] pre-trained him for us – he came back to us and I reckon he’d gone to the next level.”
After the other group 2 of the day, premier trainer Chris Waller was keen to capture another group 1 with Lazzura, following a shot at the $2 million Invitation (1400m), in the wake of her Golden Pendant (1400m) victory.
The $1.85 favourite had a perfect run into the finish under James McDonald to beat Verona Rose by a length and a quarter. The Coolmore Classic winner, which was third first-up in the Sheraco Stakes, would now be set for the Invitation, a mares race on October 24 at Randwick. Waller said the CF Orr Stakes two weeks later in Melbourne was then an attractive option.
“Hopefully we get an invitation for The Invitation,” Waller said.
“That’s the beauty of racing in NSW. She deserves to be running in group 1s and I guess that race will get there eventually, but prizemoney, it’s a big deal, so she’ll head there.
“The Empire Rose is a week later. Or the Orr. She is a 1400-metre horse, that’s her distance isn’t it, so that would be the other race. She ran second to Beiwacht in the All Aged so that’s probably where she heads after The Invitation, rather than backing up in seven days.”
Decorum provides win after rough week
Michael Freedman was weighing up the Silver Eagle (1300m) on October 17 and the Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) a week earlier as a likely next run for Decorum after he made up for a frustrating week with back-to-back wins as a gelding.
The $1.80 favourite held off Cross Tasman in the 1400m benchmark 88 on a program where stablemates Apocalytic (Golden Pendant) and Castillo King (Golden Rose) were scratchings.
“It was one of those weeks,” Freedman said.
“[Apocalyptic] bobbed up with a viral picture on a bit of blood on Wednesday and he scuffed his knee on the walker and it blew up a little bit, but they will both be right by tomorrow.”
Freedman said Apocalyptic could go to the Alan Brown Stakes onto the Invitation, while Castillo King would likely run in the Roman Consul Stakes.
He will have Marhoona and Everest hope Ninja in next week’s Premiere Stakes.
Relief for Pfieffer after close call
Call Me Sassy broke a frustrating run for her connections and trainer David Pfieffer with a narrow win in the Midway Handicap over Richard and Will Freedman-trained Miss Spacegirl and Vexxy.
The five-year-old mare had nine placings and one win from 11 starts before Saturday, but she kicked back late under just 50 kilograms with apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald’s claim to score a first win since her second race. It was a first city win of the season for Pfieffer, who had three placings from nine runners before Saturday and will chase another Midway with Call Me Sassy.
Fitzgerald went to five city wins of the campaign, three ahead of next-best Braith Nock in the Sydney apprentices’ title.
