The 4yr-old son of Handsome Ransom finished well into fourth at Wingatui on February 2, which belied an injury he picked up at the start of the 1400m race, when something flicked into Ridley's off front leg. It forced Hillis to put Ridley out for a brief spell.
''He had six days off because he got his leg punctured. That's why he popped out of the back [at the start of the race],'' she said.
''It hit him at the top on the outside - maybe it was a nail off a shoe - but the whole leg filled up like a strainer post.''
It is for that reason she does harbour some concern about the firm track likely at Riccarton today.
''You get a bit of a fright when they've had a bit of a knock and you think it could have been curtains,'' she said. ''You just don't want it to be too hard to jar them up, and Christchurch can be quite hard.
''By the sounds of things, they've been really watering it, so that's great, but with a 5.35pm start, I daresay we'll have the driest track.''
Ridley is climbing his way through the grades, recording back-to-back wins at Wingatui on December 17 and Boxing Day before his unlucky fourth. ''I'm quite keen to get him over a bit of ground. I nominated him for the 2000m, but just with the six days off perhaps the preparation wasn't as good as it could have been, so I'll just sit tight and wait.''
Ridley presents Hillis with other challenges, due to his natural fitness.
''He does everything you ask him to do and he's always been a lean, mean racing machine, but keeping his weight on is a bit of a marathon at times.''
His barrier draw of 12 suggests jockey Shankar Muniandy may end up wider, rather than taking a rails run, and that may suit Ridley along with the roomy Riccarton track.
''If he's inside, it's probably a good education for him, but he's such a big strider, probably the outside is just as good as anywhere,'' Hillis said.
''Basically, if something is in front of him that's not striding out, that holds him up a bit, too.''
The $15,000 stake has also enticed Hillis north. The rating 75 benchmark 1400m is not short on class, with the Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong-trained Purpose and Sylvie's Dream likely to battle out favouritism. Purpose was third behind Our Premonition at Riccarton on February 13, ahead of The Debt Collector, Ashburn Lane and Oxborough Magic, all race rivals tomorrow.
