Trainer Gerald Ryan and owner-breeder George Altomonte appear to have another promising horse on their hands, with the superbly bred Standout scoring a classy win in the Listed Heritage Stakes at Rosehill.
A full brother to Golden Slipper winner Overreach, Standout ($11) remains unbeaten, adding to his victories at Gosford and Kensington with a determined half-neck decision over Group winner Cosmic Force ($2.80) in Saturday’s 1100m race.
Ryan has been training for Altomonte for five years. The pair have enjoyed success with the likes of smart sprinter Menari and Ryan believes Standout could be their next star.
The colt was bred at Altomonte’s Corumbene Stud, which marks its horses with the initials AH, and did his early education with trainer Garry Frazer, who recommended him to Ryan.
“He’s got the pedigree, he’s got the looks and he’s got that AH on his side,” Ryan said.
“Garry Frazer sent him in, he’d pre-trained him and he recommended him as a top racehorse.”
Ryan said Standout wanted to do things wrong in the autumn so he put him in the paddock and gave him time to mature.
He still plans to take him along slowly and will look to give the three-year-old one more run in Sydney this spring, ruling out a trip to Melbourne.
“He might only have one more. There’s the Roman Consul or the Brian Crowley and I really reckon this horse will come into his own in the autumn,” Ryan said.
“He’s a big horse and those big horses get better as they get older.”
Standout’s victory capped a successful week for the Ryan-Altomonte combination who also had an impressive winner at Hawkesbury on Thursday in Bottega.
Ryan confirmed Bottega was likely to progress to the Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) at Randwick on October 12, the same day as the Roman Consul Stakes (1200m).
