Kevin Ryan talks us through the "strongest team" he's ever had as the North Yorkshire trainer looks forward to the resumption of racing in 2020.
This is the strongest team we’ve ever had, in particular our sprinters who look extremely good. We have Hello Youmzain and Glass Slippers who stay in training alongside the likes of Bielsa and Brando. Brando looks magnificent and despite being eight he looks as well as I’ve seen him. He’s a pleasure to train and real favourite of the yard.
We also have Emaraaty Ana who won a conditions race last year after trying to get him to stay a bit further in the Guineas. He'll be dropped back in trip and stick to sprinting and I still think he could be top class.
The horses are still exercising and they started cantering again this week, we’re just waiting to get the all clear.
Our Friends in the North - Kevin Ryan
Stable Star: Glass Slippers
Horse to Follow: Divina Gloria
Handicapper to Follow: Bielsa
Older horses
Bielsa
He had little niggles when he was younger, which had made him tricky to train. However, he had a great season last year and ended up being favourite for a listed race on the last day of the season at Doncaster before the meeting was abandoned. He improved from a mark in the 80s to 101. He’s the type of horse we’d look to aim at races like the Wokingham or Stewards' Cup.
Bin Makfi
I thought that he’d win at Southwell and was a bit disappointing. We then took him to Newcastle and he ran much better. He shows us ability with his work at home and I’d be disappointed if we couldn’t get a win or two out of him this season.
Brando
He’s come back looking fantastic, although you have to remember that he’s only had 37 races in his career. He runs in the same races each year. Unfortunately his usual starting point is the Abernant which looks unlikely to go ahead, so we’ll look further out to the July Cup. He loves Newmarket, either course, so we’ll see what happens and then we’ll go from there. He’s working really well and you wouldn’t know he’s eight years old. He’s a joy to train and has given both this owners and the team great pleasure.
Conga
It took her a long time to win last year. She won her maiden first time out but then had a few little niggles and it took a while to get her right. She won on her final run of the season at Hamilton, pulling well clear of the third. We hope to get a clear run with her as she looks strong and has grown over the winter.
Dandy’s Beano
Was an absolute star last year. She’s not the biggest but has the heart of a lion and doesn’t know when she’s beaten. We’ll try and get a bit of black type with her. She would need to improve to get that black type but as I said she has the right attitude which is so important.
Emaraaty Ana
We’re really looking forward to him this year. He ran in the Guineas and he didn’t stay. It took him a while to adjust to being back at the shorter distance but we did get a win out of him in a conditions race at Salisbury. We decided to put him away and come back fresh for this season. He looks bigger and stronger and looks like a sprinter which he didn’t do last season. I think he could get back up to the top level.
Glass Slippers
She’s a Group 1-winning filly so doesn’t need to do any more for her pedigree. The plan would be Temple Stakes, Royal Ascot, Coolmore Nunthorpe and then Prix De l’Abbaye. I’m delighted she’s back in training and I think if she’s improved again she will be a force to be reckoned with this season. The improvement she made last year was fantastic. She took giant strides from Listed races right through to her win in the Abbaye in October. She was still unfurnished a little last season and could easily improve again. She will run in all the big Group sprints and I can’t wait to get her out this season.
Hello Youmzain
He’s a big horse who has really filled into his frame. He’ll be contesting the Group 1 races again this year. He’s very talented and we’re really looking forward to having another year with him.
Hey Jonesy
He had a lot of niggles last year. I thought a lot of this horse and he was a very good two-year-old. He ran well in last year’s Wokingham but it was very stop start season last year and we’re hoping to get a clear run with him now.
Justanotherbottle
He hasn’t run for me yet. He was a decent horse for Declan Carroll, running in the big sprints. He appears fairly straightforward and will hopefully contest all the big sprint handicaps.
Last Empire
She's fairly consistent, and I think will improve from three to four. The goal would be to get her some black type.
Magical Spirit
He did well for us last season. He’s very genuine and likes to get out of the gates quickly, meaning he can be quite free. The problem with racing this way is he tends to do things the hard way. He’s tough as teak and I think he will have another good campaign.
Queen Jo Jo
She won a listed race last season at Nottingham and then finished a good third at the Curragh in a Group 3. She picked up a little injury which set her back about six weeks and at that point we decided to give her a break for the remainder of the season as we knew she would be back this year. I think that was a wise decision as she looks great. We’ll look at Group races for her and will possibly look at targets in Ireland and France as well as England.
Secret Venture
We’ve always liked him but feel that his work at home hasn’t been replicated on the track. He was disappointing at Wolverhampton and perhaps he didn’t act on the track. He had a little break and I still think he could come good for us this season.
The Great Heir
He’s very lightly raced and ran well when looking like he would win at Doncaster in his last start. He idled in front and got caught that day. I think he has plenty of ability and talent which will enable him to have a good season.
Three-year-olds
Black Caspian
Although he didn’t win last year, he’s a horse I’ve always rated quite highly. He shows a good level of ability at home and might just have needed to grow into his frame last year as he’s a big horse.
Divina Gloria
She is a filly I really like. She only ran once last season, winning at Thirsk in August. She was a big tall two-year-old and I was slightly surprised she could win on debut despite us always holding her in high regard. She could be very exciting this season.
Gift Of Kings
He’s still a maiden but has lots of size and scope and I’m looking forward to seeing him on a racecourse.
Byline
He won second time up and then disappointed us afterwards. His sire's progeny (Muhaarar) didn’t really get going until the backend of the season and therefore we'd be hoping he might be even better as a three-year-old. We see no reason not to think he won’t improve a fair bit and he’s one I’m looking forward to this season.
Repartee
He won his maiden at York and then was placed in the Gimcrack. He ran well finishing second at Doncaster after missing the break in the Weatherbys Racing Bank 2 Year Old Race and he’s done well over the winter.
Galadriel
She's a filly I’ve always liked and she won very well at Beverley. I’m looking forward to this season and will be chasing some black type.
Dilithium
He was always going to be more of a three year old, hence why he’s lightly raced as a two-year-old. We’ve always thought a fair bit about this fella and are looking forward to seeing him this year.
Will Sommers
Ran really well on his debut at Ayr back in September. I’d expect him to have a decent season.
Queen's Order
She's another horse I like. She had a good season last year and I think she has ability and can improve again this season.
Romero
Ran well last year and I was happy enough with his performance in February when only beaten four lengths by some useful horses. He was a little keen at Newcastle where he couldn’t get any cover. He ended up getting tired at the end of his race as he’d been a bit too free. I’m looking forward to getting him back on the grass.
Two-year-olds
We were just getting going with the two-year-olds doing a bit of fast work before we had to stop. We are building them up again and there’s a lot of really nice pedigrees amongst them. I’m looking forward to seeing them in the coming months.
More in the 'Our Friends in the North' series
- Richard Fahey Stable Tour
- Mark Johnston Stable Tour
- Jedd O'Keeffe Stable Tour
- Kevin Ryan Stable Tour
- John Quinn Stable Tour
- Karl Burke Stable Tour
- David O’Meara Stable Tour
- Tim Easterby Stable Tour
- Michael Dods Stable Tour
- Brian Ellison Stable Tour
- Ben Haslam Stable Tour
- Phil Makin Stable Tour
