A midweek Warwick Farm maiden is a long way from the Golden Slipper but still an important step for two-year-old Condor Heroes.
The colt missed the chance to make the field for Saturday’s Slipper when he took off on the way to the barrier and was scratched from the Pago Pago Stakes a week earlier.
He is the favourite for Wednesday’s TAB Maiden Plate (1100m) with Melbourne jockey Mark Zahra making the trip to Sydney to continue his association with the colt’s owners Sun Bloodstock.
Trainer Gerald Ryan said Condor Heroes had suffered no ill effects from his last raceday experience.
“He’s as good as gold,” Ryan said.
“He had an easy day out, had an exhibition gallop and came home.”
The colt is among the stable’s entries for the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes but Ryan said that was highly unlikely even if he won well on Wednesday.
Condor Heroes has had just one race start, finishing second to Khan in the first two-year-old race of the season, the Breeders’ Plate.
He was at $2 with the TAB on the eve of the Warwick Farm race.
Ryan has two runners – first starters Dissolution and Heartaches – in Wednesday’s other division for juveniles.
“It’s taken a while to get Heartaches to the races because meetings have been washed out,” he said.
“Dissolution is a nice colt who will get better as he gets over further.”
Dissolution sports the colours of prominent South African racing identity Markus Jooste who owns him in partnership with several members of Coolmore’s Magnier family and long-time Ryan client Damion Flower.
Ryan said his three Slipper runners, Menari, Trapeze Artist and Chauffeur had all come through the race in good order and would all head to the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) on Saturday week.
“They all came through their runs on the heavy track really well,” he said.
Menari finished best of the trio in the Slipper won by She Will Reign, originally running third before being demoted to fourth on protest, with Trapeze Artist sixth and Chauffeur ninth.
