Craig Kerry
Gerald Ryan is confident General Salute is fit enough for his comeback from injury in the listed Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m), despite a missed trial, as the Rosehill trainer chases an interstate black-type double on Saturday.
Five-year-old General Salute was into a $5 favourite (TAB) on Thursday for the feature at Randwick after the scratchings of In Flight and Monte Supreme.
General Salute returns after 31 weeks on the sidelines following surgery to remove a bone chip from his near fore fetlock. His most recent start was second in the $1 million Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) in October. He has had one trial, on Monday at Hawkesbury, in preparation.
He was down to trial a week earlier at Warwick Farm but Ryan and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou elected to scratch when the heats were moved to the synthetic surface.
Ryan said General Salute had “a couple of jump-outs” to make up for the missed trial and had “come back terrific, a lot stronger and a lot bigger” from his enforced break.
His only concern was the distance. General Salute has won three times – all at 1200m – in 15 starts. The group 3 winner, though, has two victories across six first-up efforts.
“He’s good enough to win a race like this, but it’s just whether 1100 is short of his best, and a lot is going to have to happen with the weather and how the race pans out,” Ryan said.
“All I know, he’ll be hitting the line hard. Whether he can win this at 1100m first-up, I doubt it.”
He said General Salute, which spent 10 months out with feet trouble as a younger horse, would head second-up to the Civic Stakes at Randwick or the group 3 WJ Healy Stakes at Eagle Farm, a race he was third in last year.
Sequista ($13) carries the stable’s hopes at Eagle Farm when she contests the listed Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) for three-year-olds.
The filly came from near-last to finish one and a half lengths away in sixth when first-up in the Denise’s Joy Stakes at Scone after jumping from gate 15.
Ryan was thrilled to draw barrier four for Saturday.
“She’s drawn good for a change and she should be able to get a nice run behind the speed,” he said.
“At Scone, she got too far back from the outside gate, but she finished off well. It’s a nice race for her.”
The stable hopes Skyhook, 24th in acceptances, gains a start in next Saturday’s Stradbroke Handicap. Ryan said the Gunsynd Classic was his back-up option.
Ryan, meanwhile, hoped Like An Eagle could make a sharp improvement in the two-year-old race to start the Randwick card.
The Home Affairs gelding was fifth on debut at Warwick Farm and was an outsider on Saturday at $34.
“He did a lot of things wrong, but it was a very good run. He came from last,” Ryan said.
“He’s had a jump-out since to try to get him to begin better.”
