Experience tells trainer Blake Ryan not to read too much into a 12 length barrier trial win but he admits to being curious about how his filly Starspangledancer performs on debut at Hawkesbury on Sunday.
That's the margin the two-year-old put on her rivals in an 800m trial on her home track a month ago and a large part of the reason, Blake Ryan says, she's a short-priced favourite for the Thank You All Emergency Services Handicap (1000m).
"I've been around long enough and seen too many of these horses trial like that and go to the races and pop,'' Ryan said.
"I see my filly $1.90 then there's a horse with race experience of Godolphin's (Surrenders) that's not favourite and has run well. I don't want to get carried up in hype, I want to see her do it. And it's not like it was the first time we've seen her, we saw her last prep and she went ordinary in a trial.
"But she looks good, I can't fault her apart from the price. Before she trialled like that I was looking at Dubbo or Mudgee for her."
Starspangledancer was purchased for $5000 as a weanling by William Doughty from a Rosemont dispersal sale and was sent to the Adelaide Magic Millions where she was passed in so was retained by the owners.
Ryan used to work with the owners' son Stuart and that's why she was sent to him to train.
"She's a tall good framed filly but she's not heavy,'' Ryan said.
"I've always thought she's a nice enough filly from the day she walked into the place."
The Hawkesbury trainer said she showed good speed in a home track jump out leading up to her first public trial back in January but she failed to beat a runner home after fighting jockey Jason Collett in the run.
It was a different story after a break and Ryan instructed James Innes Jnr, who will ride on Sunday, to let Starspangledancer do whatever she wants when she stepped out on June 21 for what would be a runaway trial win.
She ran 46.63 for the 800m, half a second faster than the next best time at that session, with a last 600m of 32.63.
"All her work is on that track and so she knows where she is,'' he said.
"I said to James if she wants to get rolling don't fight her or you'll only have a blue with her. I thought she'd puncture having gone that hard and aggressively, I was surprised in the last 100m."
It'll likely be a similar script given to Innes on Sunday – Peter Moody's adage to 'let a fast horse be fast' - but Ryan hopes the filly can control herself a little better to run out the extra distance strongly.
In her favour, he said, is the fact the trial was almost a month ago given the Hawkesbury meeting was scheduled for last weekend but postponed due to rain.
"Running that sort of time was almost like a race for her so four weeks between that race and now is probably not a bad thing for her,'' he said.
"If she lands half a length in front like she did the other day I'd say they won't lead her. But if she jumps only with them then we don't know.
"It's more about getting a rhythm and if she's happy we find out if she can run 1000m if she goes that hard."
