Gerald Ryan's football affections lie with AFL but training a horse owned by Robbie Farah and Chris Lawrence means he is quickly developing an allegiance to rugby league.
Koroibete, named after the pair's West Tigers' teammate Marika Koroibete, lines up at Rosehill on Saturday to attempt his second successive win just days after Farah plays hooker for NSW in the State of Origin against Queensland.
"I'm an AFL man but I'll be cheering for the Blues on Wednesday," Ryan said.
Ryan has opted to run Koroibete in the 1400m race for two-year-olds rather than the Significant Stakes (1900m) which is also open to three-year-olds.
"I think it's a great idea to run the two and three-year-olds against each other but it's likely to be a heavy track and it would be too much to ask him to run 1900 metres in the wet," Ryan said.
"I have no doubts he will run that distance but not in this week's conditions."
Farah, who is part of a syndicate formed by Darby Racing, was on hand for Koroibete's June 15 win, his first as a racehorse owner.
Peter Robl will ride Koroibete and stablemate Hurricane Henny who runs in the 1300m race for three-year-olds.
Hurricane Henny ran second in the 2012 Significant Stakes after beating Hawkspur, winner of the recent Queensland Derby, in the Prelude.
He is coming back from a six-month spell and the predicted wet ground holds no concerns but it does for Red Excitement who is entered to oppose Hurricane Henny.
"He will run as long as the track's not too bad and Josh Adams will ride," Ryan said.
Red Excitement gave former champion apprentice Adams his first city winner in his latest comeback after a couple of years on the outer after a drug ban cost his career valuable momentum.