Skyhook’s managing owner, Matthew Ennis has revealed a stud deal could be done on the highly rated Golden Slipper contender before Saturday’s race when joining as our guest on the Tara Talks Racing podcast this week.
Joining the podcast after seeing his colt on Monday morning at the stables, Ennis, owner of the G1 Goldmine and Stallion Match businesses, told the story of his high rating for Skyhook as a yearling but opting out with the $575,000 sale price too high.
Afterwards however he liked what he saw enough on a visit to Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou’s stable that he took the majority share in the Written Tycoon colt.
A week out from the Slipper, with Skyhook brilliantly winning the Pago Pago Stakes and sitting on the third line of betting, it’s looking a lucrative buy, with all stud approaches being taken seriously.
When asked “Are the owners fielding much interest?”
Ennis confirmed “There are.”
“So I've spoken to most of them.
“Gerald and Sterling have spoken to the rest and yeah, certainly, if the offer was right, I think there's a deal to be done.
“This is the first time I'm putting myself out there and saying that. We haven't really announced anything like that as such.
“The thing is, a lot of the owners in our group are fairly wealthy individuals. Some have never raced a horse before.
“They just want to see the horse race and they want to see the horse run well.
“They're not breeders. They're racers.
“So I think, yeah, there's something to be done definitely.
“But it'd have to be the right deal.”
“I don't think it's something that needs to be overcomplicated.
“His upside is fairly straightforward. What he brings to the table is fairly straightforward. I think the conditions of the race put him in the best possible position to make him gettable and more importantly, he's winnable.
“So I think he's got a really good chance.
“And I wasn't sure until I saw him this morning.”
With the likes of Wodeton (Coolmore), Devil Night (Yulong) and North England (Newgate) already secured for stud futures, Skyhook and Rivellino are the obvious targets for a pre-race strike.
The all-important barrier draw will be held on Tuesday where Ennis will be parked in the hot seat, drawing the marble and hoping for somewhere between “one and six”.
