Ciaron Maher’s bold decision to send Recommendation to the races off just one jump out has been spectacularly validated, as the galloper stormed to a dominant seven-length victory in Saturday’s $200,000 Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield.
This win marks a significant milestone for both Maher and jockey Blake Shinn, who are now setting their sights on the next Group 3 sprint, the Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on July 27.
“I didn’t expect him to win that easy,” Maher admitted.
“His first jumpout, normally we take them to a couple of jumpouts before racing, but his recovery and his data was very good.
“Blake rang me early and was very keen to get on and said, ‘he’s the horse I want to ride.’ He looks much better there than he would at Cranbourne on Monday.”
Maher is keen to keep the rising five-year-old son of Shalaa around a bend, preferring the Bletchingly Stakes over the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on August 3 as his next target.
With this victory, Recommendation notched his seventh career win and his second at the Group level, adding to his Zeditave Stakes triumph as a three-year-old.
Shinn controlled the race’s tempo with confidence, while Queenslander Party for Two and Mrs Chrissie battled for the minor placings.
Recommendation previously placed third in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m), finishing behind subsequent Group 1 winners Veight and Southport Tycoon. However, it was his solid sixth placing in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) over the same distance that bolstered Maher’s confidence.
“He wasn’t beaten far in an Oakleigh Plate on a firm deck,” Maher noted.
“I actually referenced the Oakleigh Plate (to Blake) and said he was running 10s with his head in the air at the 400 (metres) and still kicked, so I said, ‘I think he’s a bit better than these.’”
Shinn, who enjoyed a productive day at Caulfield with a treble, was impressed by Recommendation’s performance.
“I had a little look to the big screen and saw the margin and I thought we’ve got it all over now,” he said.
“The track has been playing a bit on pace and hard to make ground and once we were able to own the front and travel like he did he was going to be hard to beat – he’s a class horse. I think he might have come up better this prep than last prep.”
With this win, Shinn has now tallied 71 victories in the Victorian premiership, sitting 10 wins behind Damian Lane, who secured two placings on the Caulfield card.
2024 Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes Replay – Recommendation
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