Rising star’s comeback complete with Group One win

RISING star Always Ready’s comeback is complete.

Among the best of his crop as a two-year-old, the son of Ready Cash registered four wins and four placings from eight starts, with is successes including the Vicbred Super Series Final.

In hindsight, however, it was one of the trotter’s placings which was his best performance.

A gallant third in an Australasian Breeders’ Crown Final, Always Ready suffered an injury during the feature which saw him sidelined for 19 months.

“When he didn’t ping in the Breeders’ Crown Final I thought he didn’t go very well compared to what was expected,” trainer Anton Golino explained.

“We later found out he’d broken a hind pedal bone, which made his run a lot better than it seemed.

“It was just a freak thing so we gave him time and just did the right thing by him before attempting a comeback.”

Missing his three-year-old campaign, Always Ready returned to racing in March, winning his first five starts.

The entire’s 10 subsequent outings have netted six wins, including recapturing his Vicbred title thanks to his Group One triumph at Tabcorp Park Melton just moments ago.

Driven by Jason Lee, Always Ready overcame a second row draw and a tough run in the ‘death seat’ to score by a half-head from the fast-finishing Brandlo Prince.

After leading, Sammy Showdown battled on to be a metre away third in 1:59.3 over 2240 metres.

“That was a super run,” said Golino, who co-trains with Jack MacKinnon.

“He was wide into the breeze and still had plenty of fight in him up the straight.

“He’s always been a very nice type and if he can keep progressing the way he is he should step up to the top level next season.”