Storming home ... Ironstein takes out the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Photo: Paul Rovere
GERALD RYAN admitted it probably worked out for the best for Ironstein after he missed out on a run in the Melbourne Cup but picked up the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington yesterday.
''I think he might have run 10th in the Cup and we would have got our 100 grand … we get 250 [grand] for that with the bonus,'' Ryan said. ''If you get in the Cup you run and [then] you're not here [in this race] so it's good. This was the race I always had in mind but you're not going to turn down a run in the Melbourne Cup.''
Ironstein, 26th on the Cup order of entry, proved the strongest stayer, winning by 2¼ lengths from Shootoff with Paddy O'Reilly a similar margin away third.
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Ryan said the international raiders coming to Melbourne were a highlight of the carnival for him but he believes there aren't enough opportunities for Australian horses to run in the Melbourne Cup.
''I love them coming out from Europe, it makes the carnival,'' he said. ''I just think we need to have more races here that make you exempt from the ballot. It is a hard one, I'll leave that to someone else and be a horse trainer.''
Ironstein has proved an iron horse after he had his first run this preparation on Boxing Day last year. ''He has been fantastic,'' Ryan said. ''He had his first-up run this prep last Boxing Day and he had eight days off after he won the Tatts Cup in Brisbane. I think, in his last 19 starts, he has finished out of the first five only twice.
''We could go on to next week and have a crack at two miles [in the Sandown Cup], but we'll wait and see.''
Bauer, which was one place above Ironstein on the ballot order for the Melbourne Cup, ran fourth. The 2008 Melbourne Cup runner-up might have run his last race after being given the run of the race by Michael Rodd and failing to quicken.
''That was disappointing, everything seemed to be right going into the race and we were expecting a bit more,'' part-owner Terry Henderson said. ''We'll see how he pulls up before making any decisions.''
