A little bit of history was made on Saturday when Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou trained their first city Saturday treble – and what a day to do it.
A Lot More Love and Cisco Bay won the opening two races before five-year-old entire Ellsberg led all the way to win the Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m).
“It’s nice to do, we don’t have any stars, but if you place them right, they’ll go well,” Ryan told The Mail.
Ryan said Ellsberg was so much like his father, Spill The Beans, but needed at least another group 1, to go with his Epsom triumph, to turn the heads of studs.
Keep an eye out for the pair’s colt Williamsburg in next Saturday’s Spring Champion Stakes.
Stockman keeps running and running
Joe Pride has channelled his inner Bart Cummings by pumping the miles into the legs of what now looks certain to be his first-ever Melbourne Cup runner.
Joe Pride in the winners’ enclosure after taking out the Star St Ledger Stakes with Stockman.Credit:Getty
Cummings always subscribed to the theory a horse needed at least 10km of racing in their legs before starting in the Cup.
Pride’s Stockman notched up 10km when he won the St Leger on Saturday, and will have one last spin around Rosehill in a fortnight before backing up in the Cup three days later.
“He’s an old-school stayer, and I wouldn’t want to go two-and-a-bit weeks into a Melbourne Cup,” Pride said.
“We can run him over 2000m [in the Rosehill Gold Cup], drop him out the back and let him run home, like they used to do with the Mackinnon Stakes. It will suit him perfectly. He’s very dour, there’s no dash, so his weapon will be his fitness.”
Prince Charles’ crown
Eagle-eyed punters would have noticed jockey Kerrin McEvoy had a gold crown on the top of his black cap, instead of gold tassels, as Chalk Stream raced for the first time for King Charles rather than the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Carnival questions …
Which Everest runner has a terrible habit of biting his minders?
Which gun horse who went around in a $1 million race on Saturday is part-owned by a high-flying NRL club chief executive who has already had plenty to cheer this season?
Which syndication snuck under the guard of Team Waller and sealed the private purchase of Silver Eagle runner Waterford’s full sister?
Singo calls Di
John Singleton was watching the races on the Hawkesbury River when his filly Call Di ran an eye-catching third in the Randwick opener.
Just like her mother, Samantha Miss, Call Di will be given every chance to win the VRC Oaks in a few weeks.
As for the quirky name, Singleton said it was a nod to his personal assistant of 37 years.
“All I say to people who ask me what I’m doing, I’ll tell them, ‘dunno, call Di’,” Singo told us.
“I don’t know where I am, who I am, where I’m going, and when someone has worked with you that closely for that long … ‘Call Di’ has become a bit of a joke.
“She’s up in the [corporate] box at the moment, thinking she’s just won The Everest.
“I’m on the Hawkesbury, the TV is on, everything is OK. If you need me again, just ‘call Di’.”
Release Date for Dulcet Tones Dolan
It is a big week for jockey Robbie Dolan who releases his first single on Friday, Stay With Me.
The Irish-born hoop, who won plenty of admirers when he appeared on The Voice, said his latest tune was a “piano melody”, he was yet to shoot a video for the ditty, and would “play it by ear” if more singles were to follow.
Robbie Dolan rides Cisco Bay to victory in the Big Dance Wild Card.Credit:Getty
He was given a standing ovation when he performed the song live at The Everest Ball on Thursday night.
Dolan made sure Cisco Bay shot to the top of the charts when he won the second event to book himself a spot in The Big Dance (1600m) on Cup Day. The win also gave Ryan, who for the record is not known for his singing ability, an early winning double.
