RYAN CHASING ANOTHER COUNTRY CUP – THIS TIME AT TAMWORTH

SARA Ryan has already won a feature Country Cup, and has set her sights on winning another tomorrow.

During her successful tenure as Domeland’s head trainer, Wyong’s Ryan captured the 2023 Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) with Attractable en route to also snaring the $3m Big Dance over the same distance at Royal Randwick a few months later.

Now training in her own right, she takes Phearson, a relative newcomer to her team, further afield tomorrow for the $200,000 Big Dance Eligibility Tamworth Cup (1400m).

A dual Group 3 winner for leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup, Ryan was pleased to be given the opportunity by Phearson’s owners to train the now eight-year-old gelded son of Exosphere.

“I felt the Tamworth Cup would be a nice race to target when he came to me, and I couldn’t be more pleased with his progress,” she said today.

“His first run for me at Rosehill Gardens was a beauty, and he subsequently easily won a barrier trial at Gosford.”

Phearson has had barrier issues, and incurred RacingNSW stewards’ embargoes on a couple of occasions last year for standing flat-footed when the starter released the field.

Thankfully, that no longer seems to be a “barrier” for him to produce his best form.

“Phearson jumped away well enough in the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 28, but had to be restrained off the heels of another runner (Celui), which lost ground abruptly near the 900m,” Ryan said.

“He was severely checked and made up a lot of ground to finish fifth to Roselyn’s Star (beaten just over two lengths).

“I took him to Gosford to trial on April 13, and he jumped so well that he took up the running and was never headed over 1200m.”

Ryan has decided to take blinkers off Phearson for his Tamworth Cup assignment.

“I don’t need to make things any more difficult for him,” she said.

“They went on him before he ran in the Festival Stakes at Rosehill last November., and he seems fine without them.”

Ryan said fellow Wyong and former Hawkesbury trainer Daniel Robinson had played an important role in resolving Phearson’s barrier issues.

“Daniel knew Phearson from his time at Hawkesbury, and has done a lot of work with him under his DPR Breaking business banner.

“We’re heading to Tamworth early in the morning with a horse I believe is ready to run really well.”

Alysha Collett partnered Phearson in both his Star Kingdom resumption and Gosford trial, but unfortunately cannot continue that association at Tamworth because of a brief suspension incurred at Royal Randwick on April 11.

“It’s bad luck because Alysha had got to know the horse well, so I have called up Chad Schofield,” Ryan said.

Phearson today was a $10 chance with TAB.com.au, with recent Provincial-Midway Championships Final winner Lord Of Biscay (Dylan Gibbons) a dominant $2.25 favorite.

Ryan had hoped to go to Tamworth on the back of a Newcastle success today with Schofield aboard Chilly Charlie, but the $3.50 favorite could finish only third in the Provincial Benchmark 64 Handicap (1850m).

However, the race still went Wyong’s way with Nacim Dilmi’s Emerald Hills (Kerrin McEvoy) scoring easily at $10 from Hawkesbury trainer Blake Ryan’s Midori Giant ($6.50) and Chilly Charlie.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, APRIL 23, 2026