Shocking: but not unexpected
May 26th 2011 05:35
Shocking: but not unexpected
photography by Neil Murray
14/03/2011
a shared article between Thoroughbreds Worldwide and RacingWrite
words by Leonard Marlborough
Trainers Mark Kavanagh and Peter Moody dominated the Super Saturday meeting at Flemington with 5 winners between them. The Kavanagh double came from his perennial stable stars, Whobegotyou and Shocking.
As brilliant and well-performed as Whobegotyou has proven to be, this win at Flemington was his first success at Flemington in three attempts. Not that he has proven a failure at Victoria’s premier racetrack - having been placed second at his two other appearances - falling short by a nose defeat on one occasion when resuming from a spell, the other defeat coming when beaten by Rebel Raider in the Group 1 2008 VRC Derby when starting a prohibitive $1.75 favourite.
Spread across the track (from outside to rails): Shocking (Corey Brown) starts to come away from Linton (2nd); inside him is Playing God (3rd); Scenic Shot (4th); the grey horse inside this group is 6th placed Laristan. Out of frame is Precedence who will finish 5th.
But Whobegotyou is a Moonee Valley specialist, revelling in the early pressure that comes into a race at this circuit as jockeys need to improve their positions down the side before entering the short (though uphill) Moonee Valley straight. The tempo and pressure suits his barnstorming finishing burst. Last Saturday Whobegotyou just managed to pick up Dao Dao in the shadows of the post in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes over 1600 metres.
Later in the afternoon Kavanagh won the second of the (most) feature events of the day: producing Shocking to win the G1 Australian Cup over 2000 metres.
A Flemington win for Shocking is an expectation - not a shock at all. Typically, Shocking failed at two lead-up runs at Caulfield and could not even fill a placing. But returning to Flemington - the scene of the career defining win for both trainer and horse in the 2009 Melbourne Cup - Shocking revelled in the tempo set by ‘team Williams’ representative Mourayan, storming home to defeat (stablemate of Mourayan) Linton by 2 lengths. The win of an Australian Cup an important victory for the 5 year old Street Cry stallion who proves with this victory WFA versatility as well as staying strength. Melbourne Cup winners - on that performance alone - are not well sought after stud prospects.
Whobegotyou (Damien Oliver) on the outside draws up to Dao Dao (Dwayne Dunn) in the shadows of the post
editor's post script:
Since first publishing this article on Thoroughbreds Worldwide Shocking has succumbed to injury and has been retired to stand at Rich Hill Stud in in New Zealand in 2011.
photography by Neil Murray
14/03/2011
a shared article between Thoroughbreds Worldwide and RacingWrite
words by Leonard Marlborough
Trainers Mark Kavanagh and Peter Moody dominated the Super Saturday meeting at Flemington with 5 winners between them. The Kavanagh double came from his perennial stable stars, Whobegotyou and Shocking.
As brilliant and well-performed as Whobegotyou has proven to be, this win at Flemington was his first success at Flemington in three attempts. Not that he has proven a failure at Victoria’s premier racetrack - having been placed second at his two other appearances - falling short by a nose defeat on one occasion when resuming from a spell, the other defeat coming when beaten by Rebel Raider in the Group 1 2008 VRC Derby when starting a prohibitive $1.75 favourite.
Shocking
Spread across the track (from outside to rails): Shocking (Corey Brown) starts to come away from Linton (2nd); inside him is Playing God (3rd); Scenic Shot (4th); the grey horse inside this group is 6th placed Laristan. Out of frame is Precedence who will finish 5th.
But Whobegotyou is a Moonee Valley specialist, revelling in the early pressure that comes into a race at this circuit as jockeys need to improve their positions down the side before entering the short (though uphill) Moonee Valley straight. The tempo and pressure suits his barnstorming finishing burst. Last Saturday Whobegotyou just managed to pick up Dao Dao in the shadows of the post in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes over 1600 metres.
Later in the afternoon Kavanagh won the second of the (most) feature events of the day: producing Shocking to win the G1 Australian Cup over 2000 metres.
A Flemington win for Shocking is an expectation - not a shock at all. Typically, Shocking failed at two lead-up runs at Caulfield and could not even fill a placing. But returning to Flemington - the scene of the career defining win for both trainer and horse in the 2009 Melbourne Cup - Shocking revelled in the tempo set by ‘team Williams’ representative Mourayan, storming home to defeat (stablemate of Mourayan) Linton by 2 lengths. The win of an Australian Cup an important victory for the 5 year old Street Cry stallion who proves with this victory WFA versatility as well as staying strength. Melbourne Cup winners - on that performance alone - are not well sought after stud prospects.
Whobegotyou (Damien Oliver) on the outside draws up to Dao Dao (Dwayne Dunn) in the shadows of the post
editor's post script:
Since first publishing this article on Thoroughbreds Worldwide Shocking has succumbed to injury and has been retired to stand at Rich Hill Stud in in New Zealand in 2011.
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