Two of the horses who helped deliver Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou a recent treble at Eagle Farm will headline the training partnership’s assault on the stand-along meeting at Hawkesbury.
Juvenile Green Shadows will bid to extend his unbeaten record to three in the Clarendon Stakes (1400m), while emerging three-year-old Flying Crazy lines up in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m).
Flying Crazy has posted black-type wins at two of his past three starts, including in Queensland where he finished powerfully to claim the Listed Daybreak Lover Stakes over Saturday’s Guineas journey.
It followed an unplaced effort in the Carbine Club Stakes at Randwick when he was extended to a mile for the first time and having taken on board the feedback from the three jockeys who have ridden him most recently, Ryan says Flying Crazy will stick to 1400m races for now.
“Keagan (Latham), Brenton Avdulla and Brad Stewart said don’t run him in a mile race because he pulls too hard,” Ryan said.
“So he will probably go to Hawkesbury for the Guineas.
“He goes quite well and I reckon he can win a really nice race one day.”
Latham reunites with Flying Crazy, who at $7 is one of only three Hawkesbury Guineas runners to have opened at single-figure odds, along with $3.10 race favourite Mr Mozart and the Kris Lees-trained Loch Eagle ($5).
Green Shadows is also regarded as one of the leading chances for the Clarendon Stakes at $5.50 and has impressed with back-to-back wins at Goulburn and Eagle Farm.
Ryan was considering another Brisbane raid with the youngster but said the timing was difficult and Saturday’s race looked a better fit.
“I was thinking of going back up there but it’s his first preparation and it would be six weeks between runs,” Ryan said.
“He has done so well since he has come home, I might run him at Hawkesbury and then spell him.”
Master Showman, a brother to Ryan’s top sprinter turned sire Trapeze Artist, will also tackle the Clarendon Stakes after scoring a surprise last-start win at Hawkesbury, while the resuming Oceanic Flash rounds out the Ryan-Alexiou team.
