Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou are looking towards the Grafton carnival with the likes of Conscript and Steely, but it will be more modest targets for Green Shadows, which closes out a big day for the Rosehill stable at Randwick on Saturday.
There could be up to 10 runners for Ryan and Alexiou at Randwick after they decided to chase the $1million in the BRC Sires Produce Stakes with Californian in Brisbane, but unusually they have multiple runners in several races.
Hoof on the till . . . Green Shadows (left) runs second to Danish Prince.Credit: Getty
However, it is the return of Green Shadows, which won his first two starts before adding three seconds in 11 runs, returning as a gelding that interests Alexiou.
“He has always been a good horse and is still only a 72 rater. We might see the best of him now as a gelding,” Alexiou said.
“We pushed him to have a crack at the Magic Millions Guineas in the summer and he was only two lengths from Fashion Legend there.
“We have been very happy with him since he has been back, and the trial was good.
“He is going to get back, so we will just need to have a little luck for him to be in the finish.“
Outside his sixth in the Magic Millions Guineas, Green Shadows split Queensland Derby favourite Kovalica and Western Australian Derby winner Awesome John when runner-up over a mile at Warwick Farm in November.
“This time last year he ran in the Sires up there [in Brisbane] and wasn’t that far away, and he has run into some handy horses,” Alexiou said. “I think he will get through his grades, and that is what we will be concentrating on this preparation because if we take small steps, I’m sure to can get back to those better races.
“He just need to get a win on the board again.“
The stable will also have Super Effort in the final event at Randwick, and that is a common theme throughout the afternoon for them.
“It is because of the program; we usually like to keep our horses apart but there just isn’t races to do that at the moment,” Alexiou said. “We have a horse like Just A Jedi as an emergency earlier in the day, and he has to run because there isn’t a suitable race for him for 15 days.
“Cisco Bay and Steely are at that level where you run in the available races, and we are trying to pick out races to separate them later on.
“Steely probably needs this run to get him to a trip where he will be at his best and we are looking at ways to get him to the Big Dance.
“He ran third in the Little Dance last year, and we would like to try to qualify him in the South Grafton Cup. Cisco Bay is back to 1400m and could run a cheeky race. He is another one we would like to be at the Big Dance with again.
“We have quite a handy team for the winter should they all come up to expectations.“
Alexiou said The Face and Conscript would be split after the open sprint on the weekend. Conscript, which is a winner of seven from 18 starts, is another onethat could end up in at the Grafton carnival.
“He has won his races on the way through and this is her first run in open company, so it is a bit of test,” Alexiou said.
“We are looking at the Bob Charley Stakes in a couple of weeks and the Ramornie Handicap, especially if we got a wet track which would be perfect for him. He was good first-up and had a trial the other day, just to have him ready for Saturday.”
