Grebeni's unbeaten distance record on line in Winx Guineas

By Glenn Davis

The Winx Guineas could be the start of bigger things to come for promising Sydney gelding Grebeni.

Trained in partnership by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou at Rosehill, Grebeni will be out to maintain an unblemished record over 1600 metres in the Group 3 feature.

The son of Ocean Park is unbeaten in two starts over the trip, winning his maiden at Newcastle in December last year before a first-up win in a Benchmark race at Warwick Farm in the middle of May.

He subsequently completed a hat-trick of wins with dominant performances over 1800 metres at his past two Rosehill starts.

Grebeni is normally ridden off the pace but he showed his versatility last start leading all the way at Rosehill on June 17.

Co-trainer Ryan has always had a big opinion of Grebeni and is backing his judgement by sending him to Queensland for a one-off assault before the spring.

“He’s going good and he’s always shown me a lot of promise,” Ryan said.

“Originally, I thought he’d run 2400 metres but I’m not so sure now.

“Kerrin McEvoy got off him after his last win over 1800 metres and said not to go any further with him at this stage of his career.”

Ryan has been training in partnership with Alexiou for three years and won the Group 1 Epsom Handicap last year with Ellsberg, who dead-heated with the Annabel Neasham-trained Top Ranked.

“We want to see how he measures up before deciding where to go with him in the spring,” Ryan said of Grebeni. 

“He’s a Magic Millions horse but I think The Gong might be a nice race for him.

“He could go second-up into The Gong in November and it’s worth $1 million.

“Then he could freshen up and run in the 1800 metre race at the Magic Millions.”

Ryan was the leading trainer in Queensland for several years before he closed his Gold Coast stable in 2007 to return to Rosehill.

“I closed our Gold Coast operation in July of that year,” he said.

Ryan paid $100,000 for Grebeni after first spotting him as a yearling at Scone.

“I really liked him but I missed out buying him at the Magic Millions and I’m not sure why,” he said.

“I was at the Inglis sales later on and the breeder said he was never sold and was passed in.

“They asked if I wanted to still buy him so I offered $100,000 and got him on the spot.”

Ryan believes the roomy track at the Sunshine Coast will suit Grebeni.

“He likes big tracks like Newcastle, where he’s won, and Warwick Farm so the Sunshine Coast should be ideal,” he said.