Sara Ryan has Group One ambitions for Big Dance winner Attractable, who will resume in Saturday’s Group 2 Apollo Stakes, with the stable’s banner horse set to target another, even richer Randwick Mile feature- the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m).
The five-year-old was in career best form and then some over the Spring, winning the Coffs Harbour Cup en route to the Big Dance before a close up second placing in the Group 2 The Ingham (1600m), also over the Randwick mile.
Ryan admits the progression made from the gelding, who came to her stable in early 2023 from Peter Moody, was surprising, and is hoping he can continue to progress and deliver the Wyong based stable’s first win at Group level.
“Every single time Regan (Bayliss) sat on him he kept saying this horse is improving and you know, it’s a bit odd for a horse to keep improving as a five-year-old but he’s just oozing confidence and that’s the key to this horse, as long as he’s confident, he’ll run well,” Ryan said.
Attractable will resume off one trial over 1000m at Rosehill on the 5th of February, in which he led before being overrun by fellow Apollo likely runner Lindermann, but Ryan believes the horse has plenty of residual fitness from a campaign that didn’t end until December.
“He didn’t really have that long off, that was the only reason I gave him one trial, he retained his fitness pretty well, he pulled up very well from the trial and this morning he galloped enormous so I do expect a more forward showing than you would expect from a horse off one trial,” Ryan said.
A fairly traditional path to the Doncaster is on the cards for Attractable, who is likely to have two runs leading in with regular jockey Regan Bayliss to ride throughout the Autumn.
“We are going to attempt the Doncaster, so it’ll be the Apollo, the Ajax and then the Doncaster would be my gut plan for him.”
Ryan is under no illusions as to the level of horse Attractable will have to step up and face, but is confident the horse can acquit himself well before hopefully hitting the Doncaster with a nice weight.
“As long as he’s running in the first half of the field I’d be very happy with him, you have to respect Fangirl and Militarize but he will be more forward than you would expect.”
