Derby aspirations for promising Awapuni winner

[Wandering Eyes]

Promising three-year-old Shamus (NZ) (Shamexpress) returned to racing with a bang at Awapuni on Saturday as he made it two wins from just the two starts when successful over 1300m in his first up run for the season.

The Allan Sharrock-trained youngster looked to be a galloper of real quality when successful in his only start as a two-year-old back in May but has taken a while to get to racing trim to kick off his three-year-old campaign.

Sharrock and owners Noel and Ron Stanley have been prepared to wait for the son of Shamexpress to signal he was ready to make his return and that patience was rewarded on the weekend as he drove home hard against the rail for rider Hazel Schofer to take the win.

“He is a very smart horse who we have had to wait for,” Sharrock said.

“We had originally thought he might be a 2000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) contender, but his coat just wouldn’t come right so we backed off and gave him the time he needed.

“Ronnie and Noel have been with me since day dot and they just let me get on with what I need to do and they said if he needs time, give it to him.

“I thought he was pretty right on Saturday and although he had to work hard, he had them covered in the final stages.”

Sharrock will now look to get some black type for the horse as he considers setting him on a path to the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) in March.

“He will have his next start in the Wellington Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m) in January and then we’ll have a think about whether he is a Derby type or not.

“His breeding doesn’t suggest he is a Derby horse, but we won the race with Wahid for the Stanley boys and he didn’t have the pedigree either, he was just the best three-year-old that season.

“Mind you, now he is qualified for Hong Kong the phones have been going red hot, so we will just have to see where that leads as well.”

By Windsor Park Stud stallion Shamexpress, Shamus is out of unraced Per Incanto mare Chesapeake and was purchased for $85,000 by Sharrock out of the Woburn Farm draft at the 2020 NZB Ready To Run sale.

Hazel Schofer aboard Shamus
Photo Credit: Race Images – Peter Rubery

Sharrock also has lofty plans for his second winner on the day at Awapuni, Darci La Bella (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who also made a winning return to the track to kick off her four-year-old season.

Sharrock shares in the ownership of the half-sister to stable star Tavi Mac (NZ) (Tavistock) with the Stanley brothers and another long-time stable client Hec McCullum and is keen to see her rack up some black-type this season to assist with any future breeding career.

“She is a very smart mare who has never been out of the first three in six starts and has won four of them,” he said.

“The two times she got beaten it was by Babylon Berlin and Spring Tide, so her overall form is outstanding.

“She has that same tenacity and will to win as Frodo (Tavi Mac), but she is a lot bigger than him.

“We really want to get black type with her, but I think that probably won’t be until the autumn or maybe even next spring.

“We’ll just take it step by step with her, but I think she is a real good one.”

Sharrock also reported that Tavi Mac would be vetted thoroughly on Monday after his failure in the Gr.2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m) a week ago, including working with a special scope to see if there is an issue with his breathing.

“He is just not right and I can’t work it out,” Sharrock said.

“People were saying he didn’t get the mile at Tauranga, but he was gone at the 1200m, which is not him.

“We’ve got a special scope to use while he is working to see what his breathing is like and he has also had the chiropractor take a look at his back, where there are a couple of issues.

“I just want to get him right as he is like a mate and you don’t want to have them crook and not know what is going on.

“Once the vet has given him a good going over, we can see what the prognosis is and see if he goes to the paddock or we take a look at another race in this campaign.”

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