News

Spill The Beans to go the distance again

10th May 2016

SportsNews - Tuesday 10 May 2016

Having proved himself over 1400 metres in the Hawkesbury Guineas, Spill The Beans gets a crack at another rich race over the distance at Scone.

The colt is the highest-rated of 15 entries taken for Saturday’s $400,000 Scone Guineas for horses nominated for the Inglis sales-related series.

Gerald Ryan trains Spill The Beans for Arrowfield Stud boss John Messara and has always believed in the colt’s ability to relax well enough to get over further than jump-and-run sprints.

A natural leader, Spill The Beans controlled the Hawkesbury Group Three race after his eighth in the Arrowfield Sprint (1200m) won by Japonisme, a performance which baffled his trainer.

“I really don’t know what happened that day,” Ryan said.

“I’ve always thought he would go well over 1400 metres and he proved that at Hawkesbury.

“He has done nothing wrong since then so I’m hoping he can repeat what he did last time.

“James McDonald will ride him. Tim Clark had a commitment to another horse in the race so we were happy to get James.”

Spill The Beans has had four starts this year in a campaign that began in February with Group Three victory over subsequent Randwick Guineas winner Le Romain.

He then finished fourth in the Group Two Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at his first start beyond 1200m.

Ryan also plans to take three-year-old fillies Bubbleberry and Thorsborne to the Hunter Valley on Saturday for the Denise’s Joy Stakes (1100m) and two-year-old Suspenders for the Listed Woodlands Stakes (1100m).

The Ryan-trained Peace Force is one of 31 entries for the Group Three Dark Jewel Classic (1400m), a race in which she was nosed out last year by now retired stablemate Solicit.

Dances On Stars will represent Ryan in Friday’s Listed Scone Cup (1600m) which has attracted 32 entries headed by Amovatio and Mighty Lucky who ran one-two in the Hawkesbury Cup.