Two year old star Rubick is on track for his Spring Carnival return as a three year old after pleasing trainer Gerald Ryan in a solo workout in between races at Rosehill last Saturday.
Rubick is on track for his Spring Carnival return in the San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Rubick, with regular rider Brenton Avdulla on top, wasn’t out to make time but looked good as he was held together down the Rosehill straight.
“I’m really happy with what I saw, it was really good. He only went out evens 15 (seconds) from the half-mile. 13 and a bit (seconds) from the three (600m) and ran home 400 (metres),” Ryan told Racing Network.
“To me watching it, I didn’t have a clock on him, he worked very well and his last furlong looked very impressive I thought.”
Ryan is ecstatic with the way Rubick has spelled following his Autumn campaign which saw him win two from three and earn over $200,000 in prizemoney.
“Last preparation he did it all on his first preparation. This time last year he came and cantered around for five weeks, didn’t do anything then spelled, came back and did it all on one preparation,” Ryan said.
“Before he went to Melbourne for the autumn he was fifteen, three and a half (hands high). Now he’s sixteen and a quarter and yesterday he was 38 kilos heavier than what he was before he ran in the Blue Diamond.”
“Today was all about giving him a look at the track here on raceday and I thought he did everything well.”
Rubick created a huge impression in the Autumn with a win at Randwick over 1000m before Ryan headed to Melbourne where the speedy colt led all of the way to win the Group 3 $150,000 Sportingbet Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) at Caulfield on February 8.
Rubick was then sent out as one of the main fancies in the Group 1 $1m Sportingbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 22 before finishing fourth to the Peter Snowden trained Earthquake.
Ryan resisted the temptation of running the Encosta De Lago colt in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on April 5 and instead sent him to the paddock with a Spring campaign in mind.
The top Rosehill trainer will give Rubick one run in Sydney in the early Spring in the Group 3 $125,000 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 16 before heading south for the beginning of the Melbourne Spring Carnival with the Group 1 $500,000 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on November 1 his main target.
“At this stage we thought that we would run first-up in the San Domenico and then go to Melbourne and run in the Danehill Stakes where we will give him an experience up the straight,” Ryan said.
“Then he will probably have a freshen-up and we will run him in either the Schillaci Stakes or the Blue Sapphire at Caulfield and that will serve him over for three weeks into the Coolmore.”
The Group 2 $200,000 Danehill Stakes (1200m) for the three year olds in run on September 13 giving Ryan plenty of time to have Rubick right for the Group 2 $200,000 Anco Seed & Turf Schillaci Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on October 11 and then onto the Coolmore Classic.
