Wet tracks have been a constant hindrance throughout Standout’s career but for the first time in a long time, the sprinter has been able to build some momentum.
The five-year-old has not won a race for 20 months, his most recent victory coming in last year’s Group 2 Expressway Stakes, but a frustrating aversion to rain-affected tracks has been the underlying factor.
Time and again, co-trainer Gerald Ryan has readied him for a race, only to have his plans thwarted by rain.
Standout, who lines up in Saturday’s Classique Legend Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill, was an acceptor for the corresponding race 12 months ago but was scratched when the track came up heavy, and a series of rain-affected surfaces were the reason for his light and disappointing autumn.
“People say he lost form. Early in the autumn his program was stuffed up because of wet tracks,” Ryan said.
“We were scratching him, putting him in a race, then we weren’t running him again because of wet tracks. It was stuffed up.
“So we gave him almost four months out and just started again with him and he’s come back really well.”
Standout has strung together three good runs on firmer tracks this spring, only running out of condition late when a first-up sixth to Nature Strip in the Concorde Stakes (1000m) before being nabbed late by Masked Crusader in the Premiere (1200m).
He was again solid when runner-up to Big Parade in the Sydney Stakes (1200m) last start and while untested over Saturday’s 1300 metre journey, Ryan says Standout will get every chance to run it out strongly from the inside barrier.
“His aim was always the Sydney Stakes into this,” he said.
“He hasn’t won for a long time, but I have been really happy with his three runs this time in and since his second-up run, his four gallops since then have been really, really good.
“He’s going to 1300 for the first time so that’s a question mark, but if he’s going to run 1300, he’ll do it at Rosehill from barrier one.”
A field of 16 has been paid up for the Classique Legend Stakes, headed by Everest placegetters Masked Crusader and Eduardo.