General Salute has come with a withering burst of speed to claim his maiden Group success in the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes at Rosehill on Tuesday afternoon.
The Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou-trained gelding returned with a nice victory in a Benchmark 94 Handicap at Kembla Grange, and he has bounced through that well to claim a narrow win second up as the +320 favourite with Picklebet.
Uncommon James (+900) pushed forward to take up the lead from Insurrection (+2000) and Ostraka (+550), while the likes of Espionage (+450) and Mazu (+380) gained good runs behind the speed.
The leader was put under pressure early in the home straight, and Ostraka cruised past him to take up the lead and kicked a length clear of the field.
However, in the final 100m, it appeared as though he was starting to take smaller steps, which gave Dragonstone (+1300) and General Salute a chance to finish over the top.
Both of the swoopers went to the line together, with General Salute claiming victory over Dragonstone by a narrow margin, while Ostraka boxed on for third place.
Gerald Ryan represented the winning stable in the post-race interview.
“Mainly because we had a lot of feet trouble and he used to get a lot of quarter cracks. After he ran in the Hawkesbury Guineas last year, we cut his feet right away back to the bone and let him grow a new hoof,” Ryan said of the winner and why he thinks he has returned to form.
“The owners have been very patient. He’s always had the ability.
“Some of the races we ran him in, he was running well behind good horses, and he has come back well. He’s got no feet problems now.
“We’re shoeing him differently, racing him in normal plates and we look after him. He’s going great.
“After his last run he had blood coming out of his foot so that is when we decided to do drastic measures and cut one foot right away.
“He came back from the vets on Christmas Eve and he hasn’t had a problem since.
“It is an old trick but it is the first time I’ve ever done it.
“I knew of it and in this day and age you have to be careful about doing it but I got an old farrier in and he suggested doing it so we did.
“There is another similar 1200-metre race at Randwick in a couple of weeks time. I’ve said that this horse wouldn’t surprise me if he got to a Stradbroke.”
Tyler Schiller was complimentary of the winner.
“I thought his win at Kembla was quite impressive,” Schiller said.
“When he found, I thought he wasn’t entitled to.
“He was on the deck and he picked up again in that last fifty and surged.
“I was really happy when I came back and saw my number because I’ve been getting pipped all day.”
The top horse racing bookmakers currently have General Star as a $21 shot for the Group 1 Stradrboke Handicap in June.
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