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By Ray Hickson

It’s proven tricky to gamble on the weather lately but trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou did just that when planning talented sprinter Standout’s return at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Gerald Ryan (Pic: Bradley Photos)

You’d think in late January a dry track would be a good bet, though La Nina has had something to say about it this summer, so Saturday’s Group 2 $200,000 XXXX Expressway Stakes (1200m) became the ideal target for the entire.

The five-year-old will attempt to become just the second dual winner of the sprint after Court's In Session (2005/06), having won the race in 2020, and if he brings his spring form to the table Ryan is confident he can give it a shake.

“This is the race we’ve looked at since he raced in the spring,’’ Ryan said.

“We had the prospect of a good track first-up and we’re going to be dodging all the good ones.”

Standout does face a serious rival in exciting Godolphin colt Anamoe, as he eyes his first win in two years, but he’s returning from a spring preparation that saw him tackle the best sprinters going around and he competed with distinction.

After tackling Nature Strip first-up over 1000m, he was run down by Masked Crusader in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) then chased home Big Parade in the Group 3 Sydney Stakes (1200m) and ran third behind Eduardo and Lost And Running in the Classique Legend Stakes (1300m).

Ryan said despite a bit of rain this month he’s been able to give Standout a similar build up to the spring, where he found his form again after a short but forgettable 2021 autumn, so is confident he can produce his best.

“I reckon the horse lost his confidence on wet tracks,’’ he said.

“He had three months out and we were able to run him on dry tracks, last spring he had good tracks all the way through.

“In his preparation he wasn’t trialling or galloping on wet tracks and it’s the same this time around. He’s terrific, I was happy with his trial and his work on Tuesday morning was good.”

Standout was $7.50 with TAB on Thursday alongside Group 1 winner Forbidden Love in the Expressway and has the advantage of barrier one.

Ryan said he is a little concerned about an apparent lack of tempo but otherwise can’t fault the horse.

“I’d like to see more speed in the race, I don’t think there’s a lot of speed,’’ he said.

“But you put his three runs from the spring together he should be clear second favourite. I reckon Anamoe is the best three-year-old in Australia but my horse is going in fit.

“He’s just got to win one and he’s on his way.”

As for the rest of the autumn he said Standout could run in any of the major sprints so long as the track is rated good where any win would see him enhance his stallion prospects.

Standout runs third in a Rosehill trial on January 17

"He’s a five-year-old stallion now but he doesn’t know it. His pedigree is too good to geld him when he has Group form,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Ryan said unbeaten four-year-old Nasturtium has gone out for a freshen up after he made it three from three at Canterbury last Friday.

He said there’s no grand plans just yet and will continue to raise the bar to see where he fits in.

And three-year-old filly Mallory, who won the Widden Stakes this weekend last year, is set to trial at Rosehill on Monday ahead of a return in two weeks time.

“She’s going very well, she’s stronger and she’ll resume in the Light Fingers on February 12,’’ he said.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Rosehill meeting