Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou to debut competitive new colt

The training team of Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou of are set to unleash Sanctified at Rosehill Gardens in Saturday’s Chandon Handicap.

The two year old has just two trial races under his belt, and Ryan has admitted that it might be a bit too early for the colt.

However, the betting sites have tipped Sanctified to do well in his debut race. If he lives up to the hype and performs well, the two year old could immediately step up to the next level of two-year-old races this autumn.

“You never know”

Speaking ahead of this Saturday’s race, Gerald Ryan talked about Sanctified’s chances and what it’s like to give a new horse their debut.

“You never know until you race them,” the veteran trainer admitted about his two year old.

“But he has shown nice ability and he is probably not a natural running two year old. He will get better as he gets a bit older but that's an old cliche.

“I think he should be competitive,” Ryan added.

Betting sites back rookie

While Ryan says he’s not entirely sure of what to expect from his colt, the betting apps think Sanctified has the potential to do well on Saturday.

bet365 gives the son of Super Seth $6 chances of winning the Chandon Handicap at Rosehill on Saturday. Chris Waller’s Wodeton ($1.85) is the only galloper with better odds.

Besides the betting odds, Sanctified’s recent trial runs are another reason to watch the debut colt on Saturday.

The two year old finished first in his debut trial race on December 23 at Rosehill. He finished fifth at the same track two weeks later on January 7.

“In the second trial, we just tried to teach him to get in behind them because in his first trial–and his jumpout–he was always in front,” Ryan said about Sanctified’s second run.

“We just wanted to get him in there with a trail. He was good, and Tyler (Schiller) didn't do heaps on him. He just sat on him,” he added.

Inglis Millennium next

If there wasn’t enough pressure on Sanctified and his jockey Tommy Berry already, Ryan says this race will be pivotal for the colt’s immediate future.

Sanctified was purchased for $260,000 at last year's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, which means that he is eligible to run in the $2,000,000 Inglis Millennium on February 8. If he doesn’t run well on Saturday though, he will not run in next month’s big race.

“If he runs well on Saturday, he gets in the Inglis Millennium and that will be his next start,” Ryan revealed.