Talented Irish runner Gordon Lord Byron has produced an incredible final straight sprint to claim the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens this weekend, having jumped at long odds of $21.

Jumping only fairly, Gordon Lord Byron settled off the pace of early leaders El Roca, Eurozone and Ninth Legion, taking up a position on the rail well within the pack.

Appearing to be well-and-truly out of contention rounding onto the final straight, jockey Craig Williams found a clean racing line on the inside of the main pack for the classy Bryon gelding, quickly gathering momentum and joining fellow-outside chance Speediness in the lead, poking a nose clear over the line with in-form runner El Roca maintaining position for third.

Trainer Tom Hogan said he was confident of a successful stint down under this season, but revealed he was not completely sold on success first-up, expecting to have used the George Ryder as a form builder ahead of a likely tilt at the Doncaster Mile (1600m) in two weeks.

“He’s a proper horse” Hogan said following the George Ryder Triumph.

“We’ve had great help here, the facilities have been wonderful, it’s just quarantine was a bit long.

“He should be fairly straight for his next run here in two weeks’ time; that run should put him right.

“I said jokingly a couple of months ago my plan for him this year was to win a Group 1 in Australia, one in Asian, one in Europe and one in America; so we’ve got the first one.”

Owner Morgan Cahalan travelled to Australia to witness Gordon Lord Byron’s maiden Australian campaign first-hand, and was thrilled with the first-up result.

“Absolutely wonderful – a dream” Cahalan said following the win.

“A cracking good horse, a terrific jockey and a great trainer in Tom Hogan.”

Leading jockey Craig Williams delivered a typically sensational ride on Gordon Lord Byron in the 2014 George Ryder Stakes, and was quick the praise the travelling Irish team for the success.

“They’ve got a great system here; they’ve come out with the horse and travelled successfully before” Williams said while weighing in after the George Ryder Stakes.

“They gave me the opportunity so I could further understand Gordon Lord Byron.

“He was great today, I was really looking forward to him coming to Sydney, he’s got a two pronged attack and they’ve got decisions to make now of where to go with him.

“Tom Hogan and the owners, thanks for giving me the opportunity and a big thrill to win a Group 1 race in the autumn in Sydney.

“Full credit to their preparation; he’s basically first-up, Group 1 level, weight-for-age, 1500, new place and they’ve done a fantastic job.”

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2014 George Ryder Stakes Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	2	GORDON LORD BYRON (IRE)	Tom Hogan	Craig Williams	–	5	59kg	$19
2	6	SPEEDINESS	Colin Scott	Damien Oliver	0.2L	6	59kg	$26
3	14	EL ROCA	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Hugh Bowman	1L	11	56kg	$7
4	4	SACRED FALLS (NZ)	Chris Waller	Zac Purton	1.6L	2	59kg	$7
5	5	TOYDINI	Guy Walter	Blake Shinn	2.7L	4	59kg	$21
6	13	STREAMA	Guy Walter	Kerrin McEvoy	2.8L	3	57kg	$11
7	1	BOBAN	Chris Waller	Glyn Schofield	4.5L	9	59kg	$8
8	10	NINTH LEGION	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	James McDonald	5L	7	59kg	$41
9	8	LIDARI (FR)	Peter G Moody	Chad Schofield	5.6L	10	59kg	$51
10	12	RED TRACER	Chris Waller	Michael Rodd	6.4L	13	57kg	$3.70F
11	9	TERRAVISTA	Joseph Pride	Jason Collett	6.7L	12	59kg	$13
12	7	FAT AL	Peter G Moody	Craig Newitt	9.1L	15	59kg	$71
13	11	TRES BLUE (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse	Tommy Berry	10L	8	58.5kg	$31
14	3	MY KINGDOM OF FIFE (GB)	Chris Waller	Nash Rawiller	10.7L	14	59kg	$31
15	15	EUROZONE	Bart & James Cummings	Jim Cassidy	12.7L	1	56kg	$12