Gerald Ryan is known to keep sales books for years, curiously glancing back at his notes when one emerges as a budding superstar on the track.

Did he rate them? What was wrong with them? Did he try to buy them? His scribbling for the two-year-old on everyone's lips at the start of the juvenile season was simple.

"Strong, athletic, tough and sound," Ryan recalled.

Which is a good thing. Because when Sun Bloodstock, an emerging player in the Australian breeding and racing scene, wanted to know his thoughts on a few colts he didn't need to look far.

"They bought him and called me over to the table halfway through the [Magic Millions] sale and they had a list of three or four horses," Ryan said. "They said, 'which one would you like?' And I said, 'I'll take the Not A Single Doubt'.

"I had a look at my comments in my book and I really liked him. And the comment from them was, 'we were hoping you would'."

It might be the smartest decision Ryan has made for a while. Having carved a reputation as one of the most astute two-year-old conditioners in the country, the same Not A Single Doubt colt that fetched $190,000 at the Gold Coast sale is the early favourite for the listed Breeders' Plate on Saturday.

The $1 million Epsom and $750,000 Metropolitan may be the main fare, but the hopes and dreams of a host of owners will either be realised or crushed in roughly a minute of the season-opening two-year-old races.

It is no coincidence Condor Heroes and stablemate Didn't Mention It (Gimcrack Stakes) will fly the flag for Ryan's team. The first two in his stable are the first two to the races.

"The first two yearlings we brought to Rosehill in late March and early April ... these were the first two," Ryan said. "They came in together, worked together, went out and spelled at the same time and they went back into work at the same time.

"They were only here for two weeks before I tipped them out and I let them run a furlong together and both of them went really well."

Condor Heroes was not budging from $2.50 favouritism for the boys' division having obliterated his rivals by almost 10 lengths at the official two-year-old trials, a good place to spot Golden Slipper winners given the last two Capitalist (2016) and Vancouver (2015) were up and running early.

His time was easily the fastest of the session. And there looked to be a little more horsepower under the bonnet too.

"When they're running fast times you don't know how much is there until they're put under race pressure," Ryan said. "If it happens to be a bit wet I don't think it will hold any fears because he got through the soft track the other day.

"I would have preferred to have drawn there than barrier one with him. He's not brilliantly quick out of the gates – mainly because he hasn't been there many times. He's had two jump-outs and his first jump-out he missed the start about eight lengths, the next one he missed it three lengths and then in the trial he missed it probably a neck."

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