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Flemington trainer settles for trip to Valley with in-form stayer

Logistics mean Nick Ryan is unable to run Vegas Knight in his preferred race over the festive period, so a trip to The Valley on Christmas Eve will have to suffice.

The last-start Pakenham Cup placegetter has been nominated for two events at Saturday's meeting, the 2040-metre BM84 and the 2500m BM78, with a decision on which race to contest to be made before Wednesday's acceptance deadline.

But if Ryan had his way, the six-year-old son of Declaration Of War would be off to Western Australia.

"The way he's going, if there was a plane to Perth I would have taken him to Perth and run him in the Perth Cup," Ryan said.

"Logistically, that just wasn't going to work, but there's no reason to not keep going (here) because he's probably going as good as ever."

The 2500m Pakenham Cup, in which Vegas Knight finished third, 2-1/4 lengths behind Kissinger, was his fifth run for the campaign and followed a gutsy win over 2040m at Saturday's venue.

Ryan said alternating work out of his Flemington base and trips to the beach were working wonders with the gelding who will be lining up for start number 40 on Saturday.

"He's thriving," Ryan said from Flemington.

"He's spending his time between here and the beach at Tom Sadler's at St Leonards and he's just a happy horse."

Vegas Knight will work at The Valley on Tuesday morning with Ryan's other likely Saturday runner, Port Albert, who will contest the 1000m BM78 event for three-year-olds

The son of Sooboog, who won the same night Vegas Knight won two starts back, will be having his first start since a fifth placing behind Red Card over 1000m at Pakenham on Cup Day.