Impressive trial by Shadows Cast
Local galloper Shadows Cast could not have been more impressive as he concluded his preparation for a Group One assignment with a hollow victory in open company at Awapuni.
The showy chestnut treated his four rivals with contempt as he raced away in the final stages of the Central ITM Premier (1400) to score by a widening margin.
Rider Alysha Collett had time to take a long look over her left shoulder as she hit the finish line but all she saw was daylight as Slimline battled on strongly to claim second, albeit over two lengths in arrears of the winner.
The Mark Oulaghan-trained five-year-old was having his first start since dead-heating for the major spoils in the Gr. 2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton back in November with his trainer confident he would take improvement out of the run.
‘‘He had close to three weeks off when he came back from Riccarton so there probably is some improvement in him although he looked pretty close to the mark today,’’ he said.
‘‘He has really grown up in this campaign and I think you can see that in his performances. He has always had ability and has compiled a fairly handy record but there’s just something extra this time around.
‘‘He was very impressive today and to my mind that was the best run I’ve seen him put in.’’
Oulaghan will now look to the Gr. 1 Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m) on 20 January as the next challenge for the Per Incanto gelding, who has won eight of his
23 career starts.
‘‘We do have the Thorndon Mile as his next target, provided he pulls up well from today’s effort,’’ he said.
‘‘It looks like being a top field, but he has earned his place and I think he can measure up.
● Meanwhile race-caller Tony Lee succinctly summed up the performance of Listed Gallagher Marton Cup (2100m) winner Seraphim when he exclaimed “she just keeps on raising the bar” shortly after runners hit the finish line at Awapuni.
The royally-bred five-year-old mare, a daughter of dual Caulfield and Melbourne Cups winner, Ethereal, notched up her biggest career achievement to date when she out-stayed a handy line-up in the day’s feature event.
The victory completed a winning treble that started with a rating 65 grade win over 1550m at the same venue back in November and came off the back of a Trentham success in rating 75 company over 1600m in December.
The ease of those two wins saw Seraphim sent out a warm favourite for her first attempt at stakes company where she didn’t disappoint as she held out a determined challenge by local galloper Itsallbelt to snatch a deserved victory.
“The biggest worry we had today was her settling in the race but as you can see, she loves a scrap,” said co-trainer Stephen Ramsay after the race.