Gerald Ryan will defer to the training philosophies of the great Bart Cummings as he plots an autumn two-year-path for Widden Stakes winner Mallory.
The Arrowfield Stud filly put herself in the frame for Golden Slipper discussions with a determined win in Saturday’s Group Three race, chasing down leader Total Babe to score with authority.
Ryan and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou confirmed Mallory would progress to the Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) at Randwick next month, a race that will be a fork in the road.
“Bart Cummings always told me you keep fillies against fillies and colts against colts,” Ryan said.
“If we go the Slipper way she will probably go Sweet Embrace, Reisling, Slipper.
“If we were going the other way we’d go Sweet Embrace, Magic Night, Percy Sykes.”
Mallory ($4) defied a market drift to stamp her class at Rosehill, scoring by a length over Total Babe ($4) with Vianello ($3.80 fav) another half-length away.
Ryan, who has enjoyed a successful association with Arrowfield supremo John Messara for many years, believes Mallory will be better once she gets to 1400 metres.
But he is happy to be proven wrong and will give her every opportunity to win her way into the Golden Slipper.
“I’ve said it to John (Messara) a couple of times, if she is going to win a Group One as a two-year-old it will be a race like the Sires’ or a Champagne, not a Golden Slipper,” Ryan said.
Winning jockey Jason Collett described Mallory’s win as “easy” and said he did little but sit and steer once she balanced up in the straight.
“It was just a matter of navigating clear,” Collett said.
The Widden Stakes has traditionally been a handy G1 Golden Slipper reference with Away Game taking it out last year before placing behind Farnan in the juvenile showpiece.
Mossfun in 2014 was the last filly to win both races.
