Bargain-buy Silver Grecian has John Ryan California dreaming

Connections of Silver Grecian are mulling over a trip to California for the Breeders' Cup next month, should the colt perform well in Saturday's Jumeirah Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.

John Ryan is hoping to hit the jackpot with the smart two-year-old when he runs in the £300,000 seven-furlong Group 1 event.

Having previously failed to attract a minimum bid of 3,000 guineas at auction last year, the trainer paid just 16,000gns for Silver Grecian at the Tattersalls Craven Sale.

It proved money well spent. The grey won his first three starts, including the Group 2 Superlative Stakes in June and Ryan, who has just 12 horses and employs three full-time staff at his Newmarket yard, hopes that the fairytale will have a few more chapters yet.

"The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is there behind closed doors. It is something we have talked about and if everything went well on Saturday, he could open those doors. I know he'd be perfect for it," said Ryan.

"He'd handle the synthetic surface at Santa Anita without any problem."

On his return from a two-month break, the son of 2,000 Guineas winner Haafhd narrowly failed to concede 3lb to Poet's Voice in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.