Ryan in no rush to map out Dark Moon Rising target

Kevin Ryan will keep options open for the promising Dark Moon Rising after his impressive Chelmsford success.

The colt began his season in the Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Stakes on Wednesday evening, a one-mile contest worth over £50,000 to the winner.

The race was also a part of the Road To The Kentucky Derby series, an initiative where the field for the famous race is determined by a leader board system wherein horses collect points in selected events across Europe, Japan and America.

The 30 points on offer to the Chelmsford winner went the way of Ryan’s colt, who triumphed by a length and a quarter to defeat Andrew Balding’s Harrow.

An entry for the Dante at York has been made for the son of Night Of Thunder, but Ryan has no confirmed next steps in mind yet.

“He’s fine and he’s come out of the race really well, we haven’t decided where we’re going to go yet,” he said.

“He’s a very good horse, it was a good race and there was enough quality in there.

“We’ve always thought a lot of this horse, he’s one we’ve always held in very high regard.

“We’ve loads of options with him now, we’ll decide which to take nearer to the time.”