SHELLSCRAPE LANDS SAN DOMENICO STAKES

By Graham Potter | Sunday, August 9, 2009

The Chris Waller trained Shellscrape completed a hat-trick of wins when he landed the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes in convincing fashion at Randwick.

Jockey Hugh Bowman had the son of Dane Shadow perfectly placed in third position three wide turning for home as Cortina Girl led the field on the rail with Kiss Me Katy in close attendance on her outside. As Cortina Gal began to feel the pressure, Kiss Me Katy looked a lively prospect and Sunday Rose found a split along the inside to threaten briefly, but neither of these runners were able to match the acceleration of Shellscrape, who built winning momentum from the 250m.

As Sunday Rose gave in meekly and Kiss Me Katy failed to find an extra gear, it was left to Sniplaz, who had been slow away at the break, to chase the winner home and keep him honest all the way to the line. Not only was Sniplaz slow away, but he was also held up for a run early in the straight so his hard finishing second place result was full of merit. Kiss Me Katy stayed on for third, meaning that the two Queensland runners came away with creditable second and third placed finishes.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Chris Waller: “He is just a tough horse ... a very, very tough horse. Each run he got better last preparation and he looked great when he won his last race in Queensland. We decided then, just to let him have a week in his box. The owners were fortunate enough to support me on that idea and we set him for this race. It was a great ride and a tough effort. You’ll see him when he comes back in ... nothing fazes him. No, he’s got the world ahead of him.”

Jockey Hugh Bowman: “I didn’t expect to be so close in the run. I thought there was a lot more speed on paper. I just found myself outside the leaders, but I was always travelling very comfortably. I sort of saved him till just before the furlong and let him go and I thought he put a couple of lengths on them. I still thought he might be found wanting the last bit, but he didn’t ... he kept going.

“He was coming back in distance, you know ... from 1200m, 1400m ... back to 1000m is a different kettle of fish. Like I say, he made his own luck and he did the job.”

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