Gerald Ryan is the first to admit General Salute needs to find another gear if he is to stop the winning run of Autumn Glow at Rosehill, but he can also find a number of factors in the sprinter’s favour.
The five-year-old lines up in Saturday’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) off the back of a last start third to Lazzura on a heavy 10 track in the Show County Quality (1200m) at Randwick.
However, he does get into this week’s race with just 53.5kg and will appreciate what are again set to be wet conditions.
“He’s got to go up another level,” Ryan said.
“But he’s got no weight on his back and that’s why we’ve aimed him at this race.
“The barrier (nine) is OK for him, home track, 1300-metres which I think he’s looking for and he enjoys a bit of moisture in the ground.
“A lot of things point to him, it’s just whether he’s good enough to beat some of those horses.”
General Salute will be among three stakes runners for Ryan and training partner Sterling Alexiou along with colts Skyhook and King Of Pop in the Run To The Rose (1200m).
Ryan cannot fault Skyhook, who has been freshened since returning with a brilliant win in the Rosebud (1100m) last month and is “bouncing out of his skin”.
He is also expecting King Of Pop to rebound after he over-raced first-up in the San Domenico Stakes and weakened.
“He went too fast the other day,” Ryan said.
“He hasn’t drawn an ideal barrier, I wish he’d drawn three and not twelve, but I just want to ride him quiet and see him finish off.”
Both colts remain in the entries for the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) on September 27.
