18 March 2019
by Shane Yates

“Ryley Major is by far the best horse I’ve ever trained,” declared Beauty Point trainer-driver Rohan Hillier.

“That’s nothing new, I’ve been saying that since day one, his mum Shez Ryleymak was a star for us and this bloke would pick her up and tow her.”

Ryley Major ($1.30) returned to the track last night in Launceston after nearly three years in the paddock after suffering a serious tendon injury in 2016.

“It’s been a long road back, we’ve has a couple of setbacks with him along the way, he’s been back in work for six months now and we spend a couple of hours with him everyday treating him and getting him right so it’s been a concerted effort to get him back but it was all worth it to see him return the way he did last night,” said Rohan.

“He felt good in the run, I just let him find his rhythm early settling just worse than midfield before bringing him into the race out three-wide just inside the bell,” said Rohan.

“Ryley Major cruised to third at the 400-metre mark and I had a good grip on him when he coasted to the front halfway down the stretch before going on to win four or five metres, recording a 1:59 mile, I was confident his class would carry him through last night and if everything goes to plan we will look at the Easter Cup with him.”

Ryley Major completed a winning treble for the Hillier stable with Rohan’s first starter Dusty Martini ($1.70), a Betterthancheddar-Smiling Angel three-year-old strolled to an effortless win on debut and Dufrense ($1.40) made a successful return from a 10-month lay-off to score a convincing five-metre victory.