Many southern trainers send their horses to Queensland spelling paddocks at this time of the year so they can enjoy the sun on their backs.
But for the
Gerald Ryan trained
DANCES ON STARS, his annual trip north is no holiday.
More than half his
$536,000 prize money has been earned in Queensland and the five-year-old is looking for more in Saturday's
Glasshouse Handicap at the Sunshine Coast.
This is the fourth year Sydney trainer
Gerald Ryan has taken
DANCES ON STARS to Queensland with his best result so far his win in the
2014 Prime Minister's Cup at the Gold Coast.
At his most recent start on April 25,
DANCES ON STARS finished third behind
Srikandi and Ball Of Muscle in the Victory Stakes at the Gold Coast and Ryan opted not to run him at
Doomben on Saturday believing he would benefit from an extra week between races.
"He is the sort of horse who races best a bit fresh so we decided to give him an extra week and go three weeks between runs," Ryan said.
"He has done really well up there as he always does.
"The biggest worry is the weight he will have to carry but he will have Damian Browne aboard and that's a plus."
DANCES ON STARS has second top weight of 58.0kg in the Glasshouse.
His performance will determine where he goes next.
"If he won the Glasshouse we would consider the
Stradbroke but you need a horse in form to win a race like that," Ryan said.
As a two-year-old,
DANCES ON STARS won the
Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes and was placed in three Queensland stakes races won by Sizzling before running out of the money in the Group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes also won by Sizzling.
At three, he ran into Sizzling again when second to him in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas.
After his
Prime Minister's Cup win last year he finished fourth in the BRC Sprint won by River Lad who went on to win the Brisbane's premier race, the Gr1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).
He will be more suited to this year's Stradbroke with the race to be run over 1350m because of the switch to Doomben while Eagle Farm undergoes renovations.
DANCES ON STARS was purchased by Dynamic Syndications at the 2011 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sales for $95,000 and was syndicated privately amongst stable clients.
The son of boom sire
SNITZEL from the
Last Tycoon mare STARNET he has gone on to record:
28 starts: 4 wins, 8 placings and $536,300 including: ATC Kindergarten S., Gr3, GCTC Prime Ministers Cup, LR, NSW Tatt’s Club Carrington S., LR, 2d BRC Queensland Guineas Gr2., GCTC Ken Russell Memorial LR., GRC Takeover Target S., LR, 3d GCTC Victory S., Gr2, Champaign Classic Gr3., BRC Sires Produce Gr3, GCTC Gold Coast Guineas Gr3., 4th ATC Sebring S., Gr3, BRC Sprint Gr3., ACT National S., LR.
DANCES ON STARS (
Snitzel / Last Tycoon) is bred on the
EXACT CROSS as our current colt on offer with
KING OF THE SNITZEL’s GERALD RYAN.
SNITZEL / TYCOON JOY (by
Last Tycoon) – Our latest colt is the 1/2 brother to multiple Gr1 Winner
BENTLEY BISCUIT.
Just Imagine – He could be as good as his half-brother Bentley Biscuit (12 wins & over $1.4 million) or as good as DANCES ON STARS (4 wins and over $539,000).
It’s possible – he’s got the type and the pedigree and the proven genetics that suggest he too could be a headline horse.
5% Shares are just $8,975 so find out more on our website
