Gerald Ryan playing down Facile’s Inglis Millennium chances
Facile’s $34 odds for the Golden Slipper will drop if she impresses in the $2 million Inglis Millennium at Randwick on Saturday.
But if she does line up in the world’s richest race for two-year-olds next month, it would just be a bonus for her co-trainer Gerald Ryan.
Ryan has a high opinion of his Trapeze Artist filly after purchasing her $420,000 at last year’s Inglis Easter yearling sale.
She produced a solid debut when finishing runner-up to one of her opponents this Saturday, Saltaire, in the Inglis Nursery on December 10.
2022 Inglis Nursery replay – Saltaire (1st)
But Ryan is not getting too carried away about her Golden Slipper prospects just yet.
“That’s never been high on her agenda because she didn’t really come over as a Golden Slipper horse,” he told HorseBetting.com.au.
“It crept up on her because she doesn’t look like an early running two-year-old.
“She looks like she’d be better off as a three-year-old.
“It wasn’t until we gave her a jump-out five weeks before the Nursery while she was going well and eating well that we decided to have a crack at it.
“She was never set for that race.”
Facile will start Saturday’s Restricted Listed sprint over 1100m as a $9.50 winning chance, with Brenton Avdulla aboard.
From barrier one, she could challenge $2.70 favourite Learning To Fly, who was outstanding on debut with her half-length victory in the Widden Stakes on January 28.
But Ryan was also not overconfident about her chances in the Inglis Millennium.
“Chances are tricky. There are a lot of lightly raced promising two-year-olds in it,” he said.
“You don’t know who will make improvements from their first start to second start.
“But she’s done well – she’s done everything right.”
Ryan said he was impressed with Facile’s debut in the Inglis Nursery, and a subsequent runner-up finish in a trial over 818m at Warwick Farm on January 30, beating this Saturday’s $9 opponent Lazzago.
“She ran well in her first start and she’s trialled well since, so I’m happy with how she is going into the race,” the veteran Rosehill-based conditioner said.
“She did (show courage on the straight in the Inglis Nursery). She led, and the horse who went with her finished way out the back.
“She wasn’t going slow.”
Ryan said he expected Facile to be able to compete with the early frontrunners from her inside lane on Saturday, but he does not want to see her use up too much energy in the process.
“Barrier one she’ll be on the pace, but I wouldn’t like to see her leading because there’d be too much pressure,” he said.
“In a field of 16 there’ll be pressure from the outside. A couple of ones near her will be on speed too.
“So she’ll be on top of the speed, but I doubt it whether she’d lead.”
In the following race at Randwick, Ryan and co-trainer Stirling Alexiou will oversee A Lot More Love starting from barrier 13, with Regan Bayliss aboard, in the $250,000 Light Fingers Stakes over 1200m.
The three-year-old filly’s winning odds of $35 might be good value for punters after her gutsy third place last start – 2 ½ lengths behind Golden Mile – in the $1 million Callander-Presnell over a mile on October 22 last year.
“She’s come up really well. She went to the next level last time in, and since I put blinkers on her,” Ryan said.
“But this is a new level on Saturday because there are four or five Group 1 winners in it.
“She’s drawn barrier 13 so she’ll have to go back. She’s going to have to bank on a lot of speed up front.
“She does get back and finish off anyway. The barrier just showed her hand.”