Purton To Ride Perignon In Sires' Produce
- Monday, 30 March 2015 07:11
A year after he won his first Sires' Produce Stakes with Peggy Jean, trainer Gerald Ryan is looking to double up with Perignon.
The filly will be ridden by Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton who will come to Sydney in Group One form after riding the Paul O'Sullivan-trained Aerovelocity to win the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in Japan on Sunday.
Ryan believes the 1400 metres of Saturday's $1 million Sires' Produce at Randwick will suit Perignon who has had a tendency to get back in her races and finish off strongly.
"You don't know until you try them over the distance," Ryan said.
"But I think she will be better over 1400 metres. She worked very well on Saturday morning and Zac Purton will ride."
After Perignon flashed home to finish a half head second to Speak Fondly in the Magic Night Stakes the decision was made to bypass the Golden Slipper to concentrate on the Sires'.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Speak Fondly subsequently ran 11th in the Slipper, five lengths behind her stablemate Vancouver.
Blue Diamond Stakes winner Pride Of Dubai is the favourite for the Sires' with trainers Peter and Paul Snowden also happy to have missed the Slipper.
"We could have run him in the Slipper but he would have had two really hard runs in the space of three weeks and I dare say it might have been the finish of him," Paul Snowden said.
"This way we've got a fresh horse on our hands, tackling a Group One and it ticks a lot of boxes."
Ryan will start debut winner Redzel in the other two-year-old race on Saturday's program, the Group Three Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) with Hugh Bowman to ride.
Like Perignon, Redzel is by Snitzel who Ryan trained to win the 2006 Oakleigh Plate. The trainer has continued his association with Snitzel's progeny.
Washington Heights, who finished second to Hallowed Crown in the 2014 Kindergarten, runs in the Carbine Club Stakes (1600m).
The colt has had two starts back from an operation to remove a bone chip from a knee, running third over 1100 metres at Rosehill before an unlucky sixth in the Listed Sebring (1200m).
