Latest News

By Ray Hickson

It’s been an eventful week in the Amazing Eagle camp but co-trainer Gerald Ryan is quietly confident it'll be a case of third time lucky at Randwick on Saturday.

The colt was scratched from an engagement at Randwick last Saturday in preference to run in Tuesday’s Listed Gosford Guineas but a minor heel issue forced his withdrawal from that assignment.

But the nature of modern racing means Ryan and Sterling Alexiou can still use the Precise Air Handicap (1200m) as an opportunity to have him ready for next week’s Magic Millions.

“On Monday morning he either stood on something or whacked his heel and being a day before the race we couldn’t treat it,’’ Ryan said.

Trainer Gerald Ryan

“We hoped it was going to be all right but after trotting around on Tuesday morning he wasn’t 100 per cent so we scratched him. We treated it and were able to poultice it and ice it.

“He hasn’t missed any work, he galloped on Thursday morning. He trotted up all right after the gallop, he’s got his race plates back on and is good as gold.

“There are so many races of the same type now you get so many options with horses.”

Amazing Eagle, $2.60 with TAB on Friday, has already shown his share of potential, winning the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes back in October but he hasn’t raced since a narrow defeat at Doomben back on November 30.

Ryan feels his lightly raced colt, with only five starts under his belt, has more scope than his older rivals but even though he carries just 53kg he respects the task of taking them on for the first time.

Interestingly, he will clash with Disneck who won the very race the three-year-old missed last weekend.

“They’ve had their chance to do it and there’s more upside to him than a lot of the others, but older horses are still hard to beat,’’ he said.

“He ought to get a good run, I don’t think he’ll lead the race but he probably lands behind the leaders and will be strong late.

“If he comes out of it okay he will go to the Gold Coast.”

Ryan and Alexiou take three horses to Kembla Grange on Saturday and among them he said She Conquers is capable of building on her first-up win in the Join The 2025 Warra Club Handicap (1000m).

The filly overcame the outside gate to score at Hawkesbury on December 15 and Ryan said she’s improved with that run under her belt.

“It was a good win first-up in what I think will be a good form race,’’ he said.

“She’s a big strong filly. She ran well first-up at Kembla as a late two-year-old then she ran on a heavy track at Canterbury which she failed to handle.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting