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By Ray Hickson

Plenty of effort is going into ensuring talented filly Mallory can make the most of a favourable gate at Scone on Saturday with co-trainer Gerald Ryan hoping winkers will switch her on at the start.

Trainer Gerald Ryan (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Ryan is confident the Listed $140,000 Coolmore Denise’s Joy Stakes (1100m) is a suitable race for Mallory but is wary she can’t afford to concede ground with 58kg on her back.

“She just dwells a little at the start and we’re trying to get her to begin better,’’ Ryan said.

“She misses it by a neck and it just puts her on the back foot. We want to see her jump on terms and give herself half a chance.”

It’s been six weeks since Mallory contested the Group 3 PJ Bell (1200m) at Randwick and that race was basically a non-event for her, she settled near last after drawing the outside and was beaten eight lengths.

She’s since trialled to Ryan’s liking and he’s hoping she can find the form that saw her run second to boom sprinter Mazu in the Listed Fireball Stakes (1100m) back on March 5.

It’s not lost on Ryan that Mallory hasn’t won since taking out the Widden Stakes as a two-year-old at her second race start.

“You can take no notice of her last start, we put that behind us and move on,’’ Ryan said.

“She’s freshened up well, she had a week or 10 days out on the grass and has come back quite well.

“She’s been in the deep end all the time and she’s acquitted herself well without having a lot of luck in her races.

“She’s drawn well, I know she’s got 58kg but she has 58kg for a reason. She should travel not too far behind them and in what looks to be a good speed race she will hit the line.”

Mallory was $12 with TAB on Friday while new stablemate Sky Command was $14.

Sky Command has settled into Ryan and Sterling Alexiou’s routine and Ryan said he would have liked to see a firmer track for the filly despite two of her three wins coming on heavy ground.

“A lot of people have her down as a wet tracker but I reckon going back looking at her videos her best runs have been on drier tracks,’’ he said.

“We’ve only had her a short time, she had a couple of weeks off after her last start.

“Except for the trial we haven’t done a lot with her but she’s settled in well, she’s come around to my way of going and she’s eating her feed.”

In-form three-year-old Flying Crazy is headed back to Brisbane later this month and the Listed $140,000 Scone Equine Hospital Luskin Star (1300m) will be an important stepping stone.

Mallory wins a trial at Rosehill on April 29

A last start Listed winner of the Daybreak Lover (1400m) at Eagle Farm a month ago, Flying Crazy was originally due to contest the Hawkesbury Guineas before returning north but a heavy track saw him withdrawn.

“He was going to go a month into the Fred Best. Now he’s a month into this then two weeks into the Fred Best,’’ Ryan said.

“As long as they go along quick enough up front, given room in the straight he will hit the line.

“He’s a big strong horse, you’d never think he is a three-year-old but this is a bit harder against the older horses.”

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