Greg Ryan may be taking things a bit easy at the moment but the champion jockey still made his presence felt at Dubbo Turf Club on Sunday.
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Ryan only had the one ride at Sunday's meeting but he made it count, taking out the Total Diesel Repairs Dubbo Benchmark 66 Handicap (1410m) with Caszar for veteran Forbes trainer Barry Molloy.
Sunday at Dubbo was only the fifth meeting this month Ryan has attended, with injuries and weight battles forcing him to take some time out.
"I had a couple of niggling injuries and my weight got away from me a little so I just had a bit of a rest," Ryan said after the win.
"I just had the one ride today to get the feel of things and I feel good.
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"I've been taking some medication for a couple of injuries but I'll have a few rides at Orange on Friday and we should get wound up again after that."
Ryan was forced to give up a number of rides after a battle with dehydration at Muswellbrook earlier in the month.
But he was back on Sunday and produced a fine ride on Caszar, as he came from deep in the field to take control in the straight and win by one-and-a-half lengths.
Molloy's seven-year-old gelding came to Dubbo having placed in his last two starts, his most recent a second-placed finish at the same track on Derby Day.
He went one better on Sunday, tracking pace-setter Redirect ($7) and the leading pack before going on to score and make it four wins from 20 career starts.
Caszar ($3.10) scored from Lulu's Destiny ($2.90 favourite) and Redirect.
Barry has always been a good old trainer.
- Greg Ryan
"It was a small field and it was always going to work out well for him today because Redirect is a one-pacer and they can't go slow on him," Ryan said.
"There was always going to be decent speed and I just put him in a position where he was going to be able to get wound up and he went well.
"He's a back-marker and always wants a little luck but today things were run to suit and he was hard to beat."
The victory also continued the long and successful partnership between Ryan and Molloy.
The Forbes stalwart gave rides to Ryan back when he was an apprentice and the leading jockey is always eager to repay that faith.
"Barry has always been a good old trainer," Ryan added.
"He's always got a couple in work and he's done a good job with this horse.
"He was a handful when he first got him and he still has his quirks but Barry does a good job."'
The opening race of the day was also the only one Molloy contested at Dubbo on Sunday.