Ryan hoping it doesn’t rain on Red
Just as Red Excitement is primed to return to the races, Sydney has turned on wet weather much to the frustration of trainer Gerald Ryan.
The seven-year-old stable favourite hasn’t raced since his second in the Group Three Carlyon Cup at Caulfield in February with Ryan purposely avoiding wet winter tracks.
The gelding is one of 10 entries for Saturday’s Filante Handicap (1400m) at Randwick.
“He’s ready to race and it’s raining,” Ryan said.
“Randwick, Red Excitement and rain, they go together.
“He’s been back in training since the end of June but we didn’t start him earlier wanting to dodge the wet tracks.
“We’ve kept the work up to him waiting for dry tracks.”
“We don’t really have another plan. There’s not much around for him.”
After rain on Monday, the forecast is for showers late in the week.
Red Excitement has won 10 races and more than $600,000 in a career interrupted by injury.
After he won three in a row in early 2014, Red Excitement spent the rest of the year recovering from a strained tendon.
While he has many two-year-olds coming through his Rosehill stable, Ryan admits he is lacking quality older horses.
“Solicit, Peace Force and Perignon all went through the broodmare sales and Spill The Beans has gone to stud,” he said.
“We lost eight stakes horses and are rebuilding the team so we are a bit quiet with older horses.”
Group Two winner Kinglike, who came to Ryan when Peter Moody retired, is now out for a mandatory three months after suffering a bleeding attack in Saturday’s City Tatt’s Lightning Stakes at Randwick.
Among the other nominations for Saturday’s Randwick race are veteran stayer Destiny’s Kiss, Group Three winner Charlie Boy and 2015 Queensland Derby winner Magicool.
Formerly trained by Mark Kavanagh, Magicool will be having his second start for Chris Waller after an unplaced effort in the Doncaster Prelude in April.