Ryans bide their time with blossoming fillies for Rosebud return

Craig KerryAugust 13, 2026 — 5:00pmGerald and Blake Ryan hope a patient approach pays off when they take contrasting chances into the listed Rosebud (1100m) on Saturday at Rosehill with their stakes-winning fillies.Blake, who trains at Hawkesbury, pulled off one of the upsets of last season when Queen Regent, a $40,000 yearling which struggled to attract owners, won the listed Woodlands Stakes (1100m) at Scone in May at $151, following a fourth on debut at home. It was a career highlight for Blake, the son of multiple group 1 winner Gerald, and he was excited to have Queen Regent back for the Rosebud, where she was $81 from the second-widest gate.Queen Regent, centre, winning the Woodlands Stakes at Scone in May.Getty ImagesHe said the draw meant Queen Regent would settle back in the field, and he was hoping for a wetter track than expected.“She’s probably going to concede too much start to be a winning chance on Saturday, but if she can run well and we go to the Furious Stakes in three weeks, then if she draws bad there, I’ll be in trouble,” Ryan said.“I’d like the rain to come a day early. I reckon she loves it. I’d love to get 10mm Saturday.”Blake resisted the urge to race Queen Regent on after her Woodlands win and he said she had come back better from a spell.Gerald, who trains in partnership with Sterling Alexiou at Rosehill, also had a patient approach with Chilly Girl, which led all the way in quick time to win the group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) on debut in January before a leg muscle strain ended her campaign.Chilly Girl winning the Widden Stakes.Getty ImagesGerald said she had been back in work since the start of May but had been kept for the spring. Chilly Girl was $7 for the Rosebud from gate three.“She could have come back earlier, but we decided not to, there wouldn’t have been much for her in the winter, so we just sat back and waited,” Gerald said.“She’s had a good grounding. She’s done a lot of growing, she’s strengthened and she’s fit.“All going well, she’ll go to the Furious in three weeks and then perhaps the Tea Rose, and then we’ll decide if we try her any further.”Ryan senior has also been patient with Franz Josef, which has not raced since injuring a tendon at Hawkesbury in November 2024. He returns in the ninth, a 1400m open handicap, on Saturday.“He’s had five trials and he’s been in work since February,” Gerald said.“After his first two trials he was ready to go and he pulled a muscle in the hindquarter, then we had to back off him for a month. Then he had more trials and there wasn’t the right races.“We thought this 1400 on a better track, 54 kilos on his back, after 20 months, it’s a lot better kicking off point.“We’ll just play it by ear with him, he’s had a lot of time off, but a race like the Gong could be a nice race for him if he comes back well.”“He’ll run well and he will improve off it.”Ryan won the Rosebud last year with Skyhook, which returns to the trials next Friday at Rosehill and could resume in the Theo Marks Stakes.From our partners