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We have a great edition of the Group 1 George Ryder in store today! Join us for a live blog of all the action as we build up to the 4:00pm start time.
A $1m weight-for-age battle awaits us over 1500m. The George Ryder can stand alone as a great race but it is also the main lead-up to April 12’s Doncaster Mile on Day 1 of The Championships.
The rain has been pelting down in Sydney all week and a heavy track is expected today. Which horses are going to handle the conditions best?
Six-year-old mare Red Tracer has some of the best wet track form in Australia. You could call her ‘the queen of the mudders’. Her record reads six starts on a heavy track for five wins. She is also three out of four on slow surfaces.
Interestingly however, her only start on a Heavy 10 resulted in a disappointing 15th in last year’s Doncaster won by Sacred Falls. Was that just an aberration? Or is it a telling stat?
We could be racing on Heavy 10 surface on Saturday so we could learn the answer to those questions this afternoon.
Her wide draw of barrier 13 is also a slight concern. Whilst jockeys will be drifting further out in the straight to find better ground in these conditions, it’s not ideal to be caught wide.
Red Tracer will have no shortage of high-class rivals either. Boban is flying after his Group 1 Chipping Norton victory over It’s A Dundeel, when he returned to his mantle as one of the best horses in Australia.
The query with Boban is his two wet-track failures happened early in his career when was a shadow of his current self. Will Boban, now a three-time Group 1 winner, actually like the wet?
Sacred Falls get conditions to suit. He is undefeated from two starts on rain affected tracks. As mentioned, his 2013 Doncaster victory over Pierro was on a Heavy 10 when he carried only 53kg as a three-year-old.
The query for Sacred Falls is his lack of wins carrying big weights (he has 59kgs to lug in today’s weight-for-age race), although you could only be encouraged by his great fourth in the Canterbury Stakes last start, which was also run weight-for-age conditions.
Streama is another contender here. The five-year-old mare has performed solidly on wet tracks. When Streama last ran on a wet track she was close-up second to Red Tracer in the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara in Queensland on a Slow 7. You’ll be getting backable each-way odds about her today and she has to be a winning chance.
The 2014 George Ryder will also give Australian racing fans their first look at globe-trotting Irish competitor Gordon Lord Byron. Drawn beautifully in gate five, he also has encouraging heavy track form. Today will decide whether he goes to the Group 1 1200m TJ Smith or the Group 1 1600m Doncaster Mile – both races are going to be run on April 12, Day 1 of The Championships.
We would expect Gordon Lord Byron to park for his next run but he is well worth keeping an eye on first-up.
It is a shame that Terravista didn’t run last week in the Ajax Handicap, when he would have been well in the market and on a dry track. Perhaps it is a sign of great confidence from trainer Joe Pride that he elected to go for the weight-for-age prize today.
Terravista has never encountered a slow surface let alone anything worse, but it is worth noting that his sire Captain Rio generally stamps his stock with a liking for wet tracks.
Terravista’s win the Liverpool City Cup was certainly good enough to give him an each-way chance here. But he’ll be far better suited at handicap level next start in the Doncaster.
The three-year-olds El Roca and Eurozone add plenty of depth to today’s race. Eurozone has an impressive record of three wins from three starts on slow tracks but has never seen heavy conditions.
El Roca, despite bringing slightly better recent form than Eurozone, may not be suited here by a bog track according. Certainly that’s the view of co-trainer Trent Busuttin.
The fact we are only now mentioning 2013 Waterford Crystal Mile winner, Toydini, only goes to show how strong this year’s George Ryder is!
Toydini has one wet-track start for a second and his recent form is competitive without being impressive. His best could certainly be enough to get amongst the placings here and he was incredibly strong at the end of the Canterbury Stakes.
Speediness is another that could almost be forgotton. But he has strong wet-track credentials; two starts for a win and a second on slow ground and no starts on heavy.
Overall, even with the career ending injury leading to the absence of Appearance, this is a very strong renewal of the George Ryder Stakes. Red Tracer will be a clear favourite but it is a race full of value, especially if you’re prepared to take her on.
Roar racing writers’ autumn tipping competition (five points if winning horse is tipped for first; three points if tipped for second; two for third and one for fourth):
Josh Cooke – Today’s live blogger
1. Sacred Falls
2. Streama
3. Red Tracer
Justin Cinque – Roar Racing Editor
1. Sacred Falls
2. Boban
3. El Roca
4. Red Tracer
Cameron Rose – Roar Expert
1. Sacred Falls
2. Red Tracer
3. Eurozone
4. Gordon Lord Byron
Alfred Chan – Roar Guru
1. Red Tracer
2. Sacred Falls
3. Streama
4. El Roca
Brad Durrant – Roar Guru
1. Streama
2. Boban
3. Sacred Falls
4. Red Tracer
Brent Ford – Roar Guru
1. Boban
2. Red Tracer
3. El Roca
4. Eurozone
Points tally after the Coolmore Classic/Ranvet Stakes
Brent Ford – 19
Alfred Chan – 12
Cameron Rose – 9
Brad Durrant – 9
Justin Cinque – 8
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