Recommendation ($2) brought up a hat-trick of Group 3 wins at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon when Blake Shinn piloted the Ciaron Maher-trained gelding to victory in the Vale Black Caviar.
The race named in honour of the late great Black Caviar is registered as The Heath 1100 Stakes, and it is also the first time that Maher has won the race with any of his runners.
With two of the key market chances, Chain Of Lightning and Arkansaw Kid, withdrawn earlier in the day, the race was left as a match race between Recommendation and Kallos ($2.50), and they didn’t disappoint.
Shinn took the son of Shalaa to the front of the field and sat on the girth of Acromantula ($34), while Jamie Kah on the Godolphin galloper followed the eventual winner every step of the way.
However, as the field turned for home, Shinn pushed the button on his five-year-old gelding, and he quickly put a margin on the second favourite.
In the final 100m, Recommendation held a margin, and the runner-up couldn’t bridge the gap, going down by just under a length, with Nettuno ($9.50) running home into third place.
2024 Heath 1100 replay – Recommendation
Ciaron Maher was on course to speak about Recommendation and the victory.
“He was very confident, Blake (Shinn), he rode the horse very confidently, he’s just found his sweet spot here, Caulfield 1100 (metres),” Maher said.
“We knew Kallos would be very hard to beat, he’s got a great fresh record and he executed it perfectly, Blake.
“They’ve got a great affiliation, he gave him a perfect run… he controlled the race, great effort by him, great effort by the team, Jack (Turnbull) at Cranbourne is managing him very well.
“He just seems to bounce off the bend and bridles up, we’ll have a look at Flemington and see how he goes, he certainly seems to have gone to another level, we’ll pick our way through.”
Blake Shinn also spoke about the win post-race.
“I still had to ride my own race, I just had to ensure that I didn’t put too much pressure into the race early because I knew Kallos, I’ve won on him before, he’s got an amazing turn of foot,” Shinn said.
“He met us better at the weights when they met in the Oakleigh Plate, I knew if he went quick early and were vulnerable late he’d be coming over the top of me so I didn’t lead on him today.
“There was that quick horse (Acromantula) inside of me, I thought if it jumped it’d lead so I just rode our own race and made it a race from the top of the straight.
“Geez he was brave, at the two hundred when he got challenged I loved his tenacity.
“1100 is really his wheelhouse, he’s hard fit, I just love him.
“I love how far he’s developed this prep, full credit to Ciaron and the team and more importantly the horse.”
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