A plan formulated over the past twelve months has now reached its successful conclusion, with Shockletz punching her ticket into the upcoming Melbourne Cup.
The mare, a daughter of the esteemed 2009 Melbourne Cup champion Shocking, secured a ‘Golden Ticket’ into the nation’s most anticipated race by claiming victory in the Group 3 Archer Stakes (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Donning blinkers for the first time, Shockletz, expertly guided by Harry Coffey, was the $2.90 favourite and recorded a decisive 2-¼ length win over Think Giant ($9). Jennivamoose ($6.50) finished a further length adrift in third position.
Trainer Ciaron Maher was quick to point out the significant impact of fitting blinkers for Saturday’s race.
“I thought she was having a bit of a lend,” Maher shared.
“I could see her prick her ears in the last 100 metres at Caulfield and Jennivamoose actually went past her.
“I was toying with whether I put winkers or blinkers on, but as (part-owner) Lawrence (Eales) said, Shocking won the Cup with blinkers on, so I thought we would go with them.
“The team has done a great job managing her. It has been a long-range plan to get her into the Cup and back at Flemington, blinkers on, she’ll run two miles, so they can dare to dream.”
Maher, who has a history of preparing successful staying horses through the winter and into the major Cups, drew parallels between Shockletz and High Emocean, who secured third place in the 2022 Melbourne Cup.
“She’s a lighter style mare that doesn’t take a lot of work, like High Emocean, is clean winded and you just have to have them happy and well,” Maher explained.
“The longer the prep, not a lot of work, suits her.
“Thankfully the little tinker, and a good ride by Harry, we were very confident watching the race.”
With Shockletz now possessing a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption, Maher indicated that her campaign could be meticulously charted backward from the November 3rd running of the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
“She won’t be over-raced, she will be on the fresher side,” he concluded.
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