EVERY trainer wants to win their hometown Cup – and Sara Ryan is no exception!
The skilled young horsewoman, making a real name for herself in the training ranks, is hoping she can get Saturday’s Rosehill Gardens winner Roma Avenue to the $250,000 Wyong Leagues Group Wyong Gold Cup (2100m) on September 6.
But it will all depend on whether the gelding she describes as both “arrogant and terrified” behaves himself in the lead-up period to the Listed event.
At only his second start this campaign, Roma Avenue (Reece Jones) arrived in the nick of time to land the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m) at $31 in a tense finish.
It was the Star Witness six-year-old’s fifth career victory – and fourth (including two in town) for Ryan.
Roma Avenue, a $190,000 purchase for Viribright Racing at the 2020 Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast, bounced back from a disappointing first-up distant last of six runners in a Benchmark 88 Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on July 27.
He pulled up with cardiac arrhythmia, but recovered quickly.
“It was all his own fault,” Ryan said. “He bolted, but was nearly back to normal by the time we left the track to go home.”
Though Roma Avenue finished more than 20 lengths from the winner Space Age that day, Ryan took heart from the number of other horses who have suffered cardiac arrhythmia and subsequently quickly turned that form around.
“The statistics show that more than 50 per cent of those cases have come out and won their next race,” she said.
“I would definitely like to start Roma Avenue in the Wyong Cup, but I’m not sure whether he will go straight to that race or have another start beforehand.
“He will tell me which way to head. He is a fussy horse, but if he works as calmly as he did leading up to his Rosehill victory, there’s every chance we will get him there on September 6.”
Ryan had two runners in last year’s Wyong Cup, and sadly lost The Mediterranean ($26) when he had to be put down after going amiss near the 700m and bringing about a domino effect which also put several other horses out of reckoning.
She also ran fourth to Benaud with a gallant Parry Sound ($51), who was retired after being narrowly beaten by So United in the 2200m Subzero at the Magic Millions meeting at the Gold Coast in January.
. Roma Avenue’s was Ryan’s opening winner of the new season and her 38th overall following 24 last season.
On top of the gelding’s Rosehill victory, she is looking forward to putting her stable star Attractable back into work on Monday.
“He has had two weeks’ pre-training at our farm,” she said.
“Our goal with him this campaign is The Ingham (1600m) at Randwick in December after he was narrowly beaten (by Newcastle’s Loch Eagle) last year.
“I haven’t ruled out trying to win The Big Dance with him again at Randwick in November, but we might run out of qualifying races.
“He needs good ground and simply won’t go on wet tracks.”
Ryan claimed her biggest victory with Attractable in the $3m Big Dance last November after qualifying by winning the Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) three months earlier on a good track.
She also received an invitation to take Attractable south and start him in the $3.75m All-Star Mile at Caulfield in March this year.
The talented gelding was unplaced behind the brilliant Pride Of Jenni, but earned $50,000 prizemoney in the process.
Story John Curtis, August 18, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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