The inaugural running of the $10 million Golden Eagle as a Group 1 race always promised to be an exciting one, and Skyhook (Written Tycoon) ensured it was a thrilling edition, adding the cherry on top to a spectacular day for breeder Arrowfield Stud and their past and present stallions.
The four-year-old entire had picked up this spring where he left off in the winter with back-to-back Group 2 wins in the Gr.2 Theo Marks Stakes and the Gr.2 Shannon Stakes, before going down in the Listed Silver Eagle to Apocalyptic (Extreme Choice). However a different horse carrying the Myracehorse silks was his greatest challenger in the Golden Eagle, a race which had long been the target circled for Skyhook by trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou.
Skyhook leaped smartly from his wide draw, which he needed to cross the field and take up the running a pair behind the runaway leaders, Beiwacht (Bivouac) and Apocalyptic. The entire bided his time until the top of the home straight, charging past a fading Apocalyptic to challenge Beiwacht – with Decorum (Snitzel) hot on his heels.
Beiwacht fought valiantly to keep up his lead, but couldn’t match the turn of foot demonstrated by the pair, who fought all the way to the line, where Skyhook pipped Decorum by a whisker in record time.
“He’s had a great prep,” said co-trainer Ryan. “We set him for the race after he ran in the Golden Rose.”
Beiwacht had been the victor in the Gr.1 Golden Rose Stakes last spring, but the Golden Eagle marked the fourth time from five clashes where Skyhook had gotten the upper hand.
Ryan admitted that the flaw in the entire’s campaign across the last 12 months had been taking him to Melbourne, and he had deliberately kept Skyhook, who is owned in part by Stallion Match, closer to home this spring.
“After June, we sat down and mapped out these four races heading into this and nothing has gone wrong,” he said. “Before the Hawkesbury Guineas, I put him over a few hurdles and he’s never looked back since. I haven’t done it since, but he was jumping the hurdles before the Guineas, after he ran in the Arrowfield, and he hasn’t looked back.
“I might have learned how to train him a little bit too. I switched a few little things at home. He’s a horse who doesn’t cop a lot of work. He doesn’t cop backing up, so I might have just found out a little bit more about him.
“I said to John Messara, I don’t think he’ll be any good until he’s an autumn 4-year-old, so we’ll see what happens. He’s ahead of schedule.”
The entire would now head for a break ahead of living up to his potential in the autumn.
“It’s a quick turnaround to the autumn,” said Ryan. “The Apollo Stakes is in February and it’s a Group 1 race now, so we’ll aim him at that. He’s won his good race now and I think there’s more in him.”
Sales: Skyhook was a $575,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase for his trainers from the Arrowfield Stud draft, and belongs to a syndicate that includes Matthew Ennis of Stallion Match.
Written for TTRAusNZ
