3 minute read
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Ryan says he has learned from experience not to travel horses at the end of their preparation.
In Brief
- Three wins in succession for Take the Sit.
- Interstate trip shelved for in-form mare.
- Melbourne on the cards next preparation.
And that's why he has opted to spell his smart mare Take The Sit that registered her sixth career win in a benchmark 78 handicap over 1200m in Hobart last Sunday.
Take the Sit won the 3 & 4YO Tasmanian Magic Millions Classic and went on to win another three races this time in to establish herself as one of the most promising mares in the state.
This latest triumph was arguably one of her best.
The daughter of Tough Speed was dropping back in distance from 1400m to 1200m, but she made light of the task to come from well back tuning for home to score a runaway win by 2-1/2 lengths from Gee Gee True Story ($41) with Alinger ($3.60) third, just in advance of Geegee Trendsetter ($41).
"I learned a long time ago that horses at the end of their preparation don't fire when they head interstate," Bill Ryan said.
"You take them when they are at their top or not at all and I learned that from my own mistakes.
"In my first year as a trainer I took my Tasmanian Oaks winner to Melbourne as an afterthought because the owners wanted her to race in Melbourne, and from memory I think she ran last, so it just doesn't work.
"Take the Sit will go to the paddock and if she comes up next preparation, we'll think about taking her to Melbourne.
"I think she's proved to be better than average, but she has been in work since December and has done a mighty job, so she now goes to the paddock."
Ryan says there is plenty of improvement in the mare and he expects her to be competitive up to 1600m.
"We tried her at 1600m once and she didn't fire, but there were reasons why that didn't work out, so I'm sure we can have another look at stepping her up in trip."
Take the Sit has had only 14 starts for six wins and three seconds for almost $140,000 in stakes.
