Young trotter hits the road again

A super impressive trial at home earlier this week has put smiles on faces at the Bendigo harness racing stables of David Van Ryn.

Rising star Uptown Lad (Sebastian K), undefeated in his three race starts, will be looking to make a clean sweep of the HRNSW 2YO Trotters Foundation series when he competes in the $25,500 final at Menangle on Saturday night.

“It was probably the best he’s ever worked. The extra few days between his last run up there and the final is a big plus,” Van Ryn said.

“He’s still got to do it on the night, of course, but he’s very bright and the eight-hour road-trips haven’t knocked him around one bit. Nothing much flusters him despite only being a two-year-old.

“He seems to be just loving it – I’m starting to think that it half excites him. He’s still eating up and hasn’t left a crumb. During the last trip, he had his head in the feed bucket before I could tip it into the feeder!”

Van Ryn said he had stuck to the same routine, although he’d put a little more work into the horse with 10 days between races.

“In the heats it was two runs from one Tuesday to the next. In his most recent win, ‘Sutts’ (driver Leigh Sutton) and I decided to drive him with a sit. He half went to switch off when he got past two others and then took off again when he realized there was another one still out in front,” Van Ryn said.

At both his Menangle victories, Uptown Lad has won by big margins—21 metres on the first occasion, and then nearly 30 metres last time.

UPTOWN LAD JUNE 7 REPLAY

The youngster is raced by Van Ryn’s wife Kristy, who is the breeder, along with long-time clients Helen Friend and Tracey Plush.

Uptown Lad, nicknamed “Eddie”, is the first and only foal out of Downtown Miss (Majestic Son), a winner of six races and eight placings for $35,000.

Van Ryn trained Downtown Miss for most of her career with nephew Haydon Gray scoring three wins and Ellen Tormey and Kerryn Manning one win apiece.

“After she foaled, Downtown Miss was put back into work for a bit. I’d lost interest and was thinking of going back to bricklaying, so Shaun McNaulty gave her a run at Shepparton for a third. Michael Gadsden then got her, and she ended up winning one at Swan Hill,” Van Ryn said.

Going back further, the grand-dam of Uptown Lad, False Gem (S J’s Photo) was first trained by David Van Ryn’s father Cory, a legend in square-gaiter ranks. She was also, coincidentally driven on a number of occasions by Uptown Lad’s driver Sutton, then a junior reinsman.

Van Ryn thought it would be best for the horse to have the same trainer/driver combination and the mare was transferred to another legend of trotting, the late Bob Conroy for her last three seasons of racing.

The move proved to be a shrewd one with the mare winning the $20,000 Lightfoot Laurels in 2008, with Conroy’s son Glenn doing the driving.

Between 2004 and 2010, False Gem raced on 150 occasions for 17 wins and 37 placings for $178,000. She won the Redwood 2YO consolation, 2006 Central Victorian Trotting Championship at Charlton, Lightfoot Laurels at Moonee Valley as well as races at Melton, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Cobram and Shepparton.

Apart from Downtown Miss, False Gem had two others to get to the racetrack. Both prepared by David Van Ryn, Shetland (Armbro Variable) had 12 wins, while Simulant (Angus Hall) has so far had two wins and two placings.

“False Gem unfortunately died in a paddock accident in 2017. She was in foal to Father Patrick and we lost the foal as well,” Van Ryn said.

Uptown Lad will start from barrier seven in the final, race 9 on Saturday night.

For complete Menangle race entries, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink