A history of foot problems had troubled General Salute throughout his career, but the five-year-old produced a career-best effort at Rosehill to claim an overdue victory in the Listed Winter Stakes.
Co-trainer Gerald Ryan revealed that the gelding has faced soundness issues almost from birth. He spent a year off the track following his unplaced run in the 2024 Hawkesbury Guineas, only to encounter a separate problem upon his return.
“He had an operation on his foot as a foal and we’ve had heaps of trouble with it,” Ryan stated. “He kept getting quarter cracks. When he had that long break (after the Guineas), we cut all his foot away and turned him out to let it grow out. He came back, then after he ran at Randwick he chipped a joint and had to have surgery. He’s had problems all his life, so it was good to see the horse do that.”
Despite his physical challenges, General Salute has been a remarkably consistent performer and a significant earner for his connections. Saturday’s Winter Stakes (1400m) marked his first win in 15 months, yet he has only missed a top-three finish once in his last eight starts, demonstrating his competitiveness against horses like Autumn Glow in last year’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) and Headley Grange in the Alan Brown Stakes (1400m).
“He won nearly $400,000 last time in without winning a race,” Ryan commented.
General Salute’s ninth-place finish in the Civic Stakes (1400m) was the sole recent setback, with Ryan admitting the horse was likely asked to step up too quickly in distance from the 1100m of his first-up run.
“It was probably my fault for doing that. He should have had a shorter race in the meantime,” he conceded. “Because he was so fresh, we stuck the work into him more than we would normally do since then and, older horse, he’s copped it good.”
Ridden by Tim Clark, General Salute, a $8.50 chance, finished strongly along the inside to defeat Mchale ($10) by a length, with Midnight Dynamite ($4.80) taking third place.
The stable will monitor the horse’s recovery before deciding on his participation in the Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill on July 18. General Salute returned excellent value for punters at $8.50 according to leading Aussie betting sites, while Mchale and Midnight Dynamite also featured prominently in betting apps Australia markets.
