SHOCKING GIVES KAVANAGH BRISBANE DELIMMA

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Shocking provided trainer Mark Kavanagh with a dilemma when he scored in fine style at Caulfield on Saturday.

It was third success in his last four starts, a sequence which began with Maiden win at Bendigo on April 17. His wins have come over 1300m, 1600m and, in this latest effort, 2000m.

Shocking raced worse than midfield in relaxed fashion early on. Steven King got Shocking going early from the 600m mark and the son of Street Cry made up ground steadily in spite of being held all of five to six wide throughout the sweep to the turn.

Shocking straightened only a couple of lengths off the lead, and he wasted little time in asserting his authority, striding clear with the minimum of fuss to win hard held by a clearcut margin.

It was an impressive win.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Mark Kavanagh: “His always shown us that he has got that sort of ability. The penny is just starting to drop now, you know, and in this sort of class and up to his right distance, he’s finding it pretty easy. I never thought he’d ever win by that sort of distance. He is a pretty laid back sort of a galloper. Yeah, he surprised me a bit.

“We’ll wait and see about Queensland. It’s pretty wet up there. You’ve got a good horse ... it’s pretty wet up there ... you know. Yesterday it dried up a bit. Last night it got heavy again. I don’t know. It’s a big call. You’ve got a pretty smart horse but do you want to cook it. I’m in two minds about it. You got to fly him up, have his first run the opposite way. You, know he could be a real horse. He could be a spring hope”

Jockey Steven King: “No doubt, it was a bigger task today (than last week) with the rail being out ten metres and the bigger field. We got sort of shuffled back early. We had to accept that. Just had to ride a race on him. At the 600m I pulled him out and let him roll around the field. I sort of went around a few of them and then I sat. When we straightened up and I asked him to quicken again he gave me a good kick. It gets down to the connections whether they press on this prep.”

Kavanagh and King were speaking directly after the win. It has subsequently been decided that the connections of Shocking will pay the $13 750 late entry fee that is required for the colt to line up in the Queensland Derby. The payment is due by Wednesday.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Shocking): 2.20 out to 2.80.
The winner was the favourite.