It’s take two for Bandersnatch at Randwick

Bandersnatch is set to run at Randwick after his scratching from the Group Three Hawkesbury Guineas.

A small cut put paid to Bandersnatch’s Hawkesbury Guineas bid but trainer Gerald Ryan says it looked a lot worse than it was.

Well supported into favouritism leading up to Saturday’s Group Three race at Rosehill, Bandersnatch was scratched at the barrier when he was found to have a wound on a hind leg.

His trainer has no idea how it happened given the distancing rules surrounding racing during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Where I was standing looking towards the mounting yard I couldn’t see if he did it there,” Ryan said.

“It was really minor, like a paper cut, but there was an awful lot of blood.

“He can sometimes get worked up. He is a bit of an airhead.

“He worked on Sunday and Monday and galloped this morning so he is ready to go on Saturday.”

He may be an airhead, but Bandersnatch has won four of his eight starts and races in the same colours as Inz’n’out, part-owned by jockeys’ valet Chris Barrett.

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The gelding is one of 21 entries for the Benchmark 88 race over 1400m on the Kensington track at Randwick.

All going well, he will then be given the chance at another rich race, the $200,000 Scone Guineas two weeks later.

Like the Hawkesbury meeting, the Scone program will be run at Rosehill to accommodate metropolitan jockeys with riders divided into three zones because of COVID-19.

Ryan entered Cardiff in two races but he will run over 1100 metres with stablemate Mana Musa to run over 1000.

Normally at this time of year, Ryan would be looking at horses to transition from the Scone meeting to races in Brisbane.

But unless travel restrictions are eased he is unlikely to send anything to Queensland for the reduced winter carnival.

“You can send the horses but you can’t send your own staff which makes it difficult,” he said.

“At the moment we probably won’t send horses up there and we are still racing for good money here.

“We will make a final decision after the Scone meeting.”