The Epsom Handicap is off the table, but the $10 million Golden Eagle remains a primary objective for Gerald Ryan’s sprinter-miler, Skyhook.
The four-year-old is set to make his seasonal debut in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill this Saturday, a schedule that effectively precludes him from the Epsom Handicap (1600m) three weeks later.
“He won’t get to the Epsom. If he runs Saturday here then he’d have to run again in the Shannon (Stakes) and back up. He’s not a back-up horse,” Ryan stated.
“The main aim is to get him to the Golden Eagle. It’s just how we get there.
“The horse doesn’t cop heaps of work, but I will have to give him three of four runs prior to going there.”
The initial step on this journey is the Theo Marks Stakes, where Skyhook faces the challenge of barrier 15. Nevertheless, Ryan is optimistic, citing the horse’s natural speed and residual fitness from a Queensland winter campaign, suggesting he is forward enough to win.
Skyhook has consistently demonstrated his quality, having won the Pago Pago Stakes at two and competed in the Golden Slipper. He further cemented his class at the end of his three-year-old season by winning the Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) and delivering a dominant performance in the Gunsynd Classic (1600m) at Eagle Farm.
Ryan attributes Skyhook’s consistent Group-level performances to tactical adjustments in his training methodology.
“Between the Arrowfield (3YO Sprint) and Hawkesbury Guineas, I changed a few things with his training, and it really worked,” Ryan commented.
“I started working him sharper, and just did some things like jumped him over a couple of hurdles.
“He’s pretty forward. He only had nineteen days off then three weeks of pre-training at Newington Farm with (former horse trainer) Kacy Fogden. She looked after him up there and he came back in really good order, and he’s had the two good trials as well.”
Just Party has been scratched from the Theo Marks Stakes and will instead be directed towards Saturday’s Listed Tontonan Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, a track Ryan expects the backmarker to perform well at.
As a first-up winner of the Goulburn Cup (1400m), Just Party is eligible for The Big Dance (1600m) on Melbourne Cup Day, although connections are reportedly hesitant about pursuing this target.
“We always thought he’d run a journey, and he’s been placed over 1600 metres a couple of times, but we’ve decided to train him as a shorter course horse and see how he goes,” Ryan said.
“It’s his second preparation as a gelding as well. That can make a difference.
“He’ll come home after Saturday. There’s nothing else down there for him for a couple of weeks, so we’ll bring him home and decide after that.”
Just Party was rated a $4.20 chance for the Tontonan Stakes on Thursday, with Skyhook being the $3 favourite for the Theo Marks Stakes. Place your bets on Skyhook with Australian betting sites for the Theo Marks Stakes.
