Written by Paul Vettise
The well-related Standout (Exceed And Excel) gave away age and experience at Randwick, but trainer Gerald Ryan knew he had the talent to make an impression and he was on the money as the exciting colt took his rivals apart.
Ryan has had Standout on a pedestal since he arrived at his Rosehill yard and that opinion was fulfilled in style in the G3 TAB Expressway S. when the lightly-tried 3-year-old proved superior to the three-time Group 1 winner Alizee (Sepoy).
Rider Tommy Berry had Standout cruising along near the pace and when he slipped him more rein in the straight he took control 200 metres from home and coasted away for the fifth win of his six-start career.
“I threw him in at the deep end. We could have stayed against the 3-year-olds, but I wanted to try him in this race and then decide where we’re heading with him later in the autumn,” Ryan said.
“The way he won that and the way Tommy rode him and the way he switched off, well we could aim him at anything.”
Bred and raced by George Altomonte’s Corumbene Stud, Standout displayed raw talent from the outset, but it’s taken time to harness it and mould the colt’s manners.
Standout
“Right from the word go he’s showed it. As a younger horse he did a few things wrong and this time last year George said forget about the autumn and tip him out.
“We gave him time and we’ve put a lot of energy into getting him to switch off and he’s going beautifully. He’s always showed that he’s got Group 1 ability.
“We gave him time and we’ve put a lot of energy into getting him to switch off and he’s going beautifully.” – Gerald Ryan
“He’s not there yet, but we’ll have a crack this autumn. We could aim at the sprint races at weight-for-age where he’s got an advantage with 55kg, a 10th of his bodyweight.
“A race like the Canterbury S., could go on the agenda and we’ve had luck in the TJ Smith S. with Melito and Trapeze Artist as 3-year-olds so those races are always there.”
Trapeze Artist, now resident at Widden Stud, also won the Expressway as a 3-year-old.
“The better sprinters are going to come back for certain. These aren’t the A-grade sprinters he’s beaten, but he’s going to improve and, after all, it’s only his sixth start in a race,” Ryan said.
Tommy Berry returning to scale aboard Standout
Berry said he needed to re-evaluate Standout after his performance.
"When I asked him to quicken he put them away very quickly. I thought he was a Group 2 horse, just behind those Group 1 horses because the 3-year-olds this year are out of this world, the best crop I've seen.
“I thought he was a Group 2 horse, just behind those Group 1 horses because the 3-year-olds this year are out of this world, the best crop I've seen.” – Tommy Berry
"But maybe he is getting closer to them now, he might be ready to give them a shake."
Alizee, who won the Expressway 12 months ago, settled last on the fence and got a run through the field to claim second money.
White Moss (Mossman) was handy throughout and boxed on well for third ahead of Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), who made late ground.
Gerald Ryan and Tommy Berry
Standout is bred to be good, as he’s a brother to the Altomonte’s G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Overreach and to the G2 Canonbury S. runner-up Outreach, who now stands at Widden Stud.
They are out of Bahia (Snippets), who was successful four times, and is a half-sister to the G1 Blue Diamond S. winner and sire Reward For Effort.
It’s also the family of the Group 3 winners Life’s A Bounty (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) and Charmed Harmony (Hussonet {USA}).
