Following a strong performance at Caulfield, trainer Nick Ryan is mulling over Queensland options for Highvol, the gelding who ended his drought.
Success had eluded Highvol since his two-year-old double until Saturday’s Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1600m).
Under Jamie Mott’s steer, Highvol ($16) set the pace and just held on by a nose against Tarntanya ($18), with Himalayan ($5.50) third.
The Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at Flemington fell to Highvol in his younger days, leading Ryan to plot a Brisbane winter raid.
An illness derailed Highvol‘s northern trip, forcing Ryan into a spring-focused approach.
He placed fourth late in the Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley before Ryan chased the Victoria Derby with his three-year-old.
“He had a frustrating spring,” Ryan said.
“He ran super in the Stutt second-up, flying home, against these types of horses.
“He then almost won a Geelong Classic, and we pushed on to the Derby, but it flattened him a lot and I was very mindful of that and hence we didn’t rush him back for the autumn.
“I went and looked at him and said to the owners to give him some more time because he was quite tired after the Derby.
“He was second-up today. They went very slow last time, and he’s no good off a slow tempo, and when they sprinted, they left him flat-footed.”
Since the first-up run at Sandown a month ago, Ryan has worked Highvol hard to prepare for the 1600m grind.
“I said to Motty that I had screwed him down between runs and he’s at his best free rolling off a fast tempo and that’s what that was,” Ryan said.
“It was a bit of a dogfight late and he’s good in the soft, so there was a lot of positives.
“He’s a handy horse and he won his first two and we had plans to go to Queensland, but he got crook.
“He ticks the wet-track box, and he makes his own luck, so a trip to Queensland, anything is possible.”
Online bookmakers offer great betting sites for the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap action.