Triple Group One winner Hay List will add considerable depth to Saturday’s Challenge Stakes after being a late addition to the Group Two sprint.
Trainer John McNair admitted it was probably his mistake Hay List was not among original nominations but with entries left open, he was added to the field.
Glyn Schofield gave him a workout on Tuesday morning and McNair confirmed the Challenge Stakes (1000m) as a starting point for the injury-plagued Hay List who has had a few problems with a troublesome hoof.
His presence is no concern for trainer Gerald Ryan who goes into the race double handed with last year’s Golden Slipper runner-up Snitzerland and recent Oakleigh Plate winner Mrs Onassis.
“I’m not going to run away from any horse,” Ryan said.
“This race has been on Snitzerland’s program from the outset and that’s where we go.
“She worked solo at Rosehill this morning and Corey (Brown) was very happy with her.
“Three-year-old fillies don’t get the same advantage at weight-for-age as they do in the autumn but she has never run a bad race and she’ll be right there.
“There aren’t a lot of sprints for three-year-old fillies so she has to take on the older horses.”
Plans for Mrs Onassis changed with Ryan and owner Gerry Harvey originally planning to wait for the Group One Galaxy (1100m) on March 30.
“We were going to wait but she hates wets tracks. If we wait for the Galaxy and it happens to be wet, we would be kicking ourselves if we didn’t go here.
“She had a bit of a break after the Oakleigh Plate and has come back as well as she was before that.”
Although reluctant to split his two runners, Ryan said Snitzerland was by far the better track worker and had beaten Mrs Onassis each time they had galloped together.
Ryan also has Dothraki running at Warwick Farm with the colt looking to confirm his place in the Golden Slipper field via the Skyline Stakes.
“He’s going very well but the penny still hasn’t dropped,” Ryan said.
“He will only get better as he goes along.”
