Shock ‘Em Ova, the New Zealand-bred five-year-old, furthered his promising career by securing an impressive victory at Caulfield.
With a record boasting two wins and three second-place finishes in his six starts, including a noteworthy second-place finish at Sandown on August 30, this horse had been steadily making a name for himself.
Despite being a hot favourite to clinch his third victory, Shock ‘Em Ova faced a tense moment as he hesitated at the starting gates, leaving him in last place as they entered the home straight.
However, jockey Craig Williams displayed his exceptional skills, guiding the son of Shocking to the outside and unleashing his top gear.
In a remarkable display of power, Shock ‘Em Ova surged past all 10 of his competitors, clinching victory with ease.
His clocked time of 1:36.70 set a new class record, besting the previous mark of 1:36.91 set by Seb Song on Memsie Stakes Day earlier in the month.
“I rode this horse near the end of his last campaign, and I’ve been on his back from the start of this preparation and ridden him in his lead-up work. His attitude is still not perfect, but he was much better today,” Williams shared, reflecting on the race.
“The race mapped out to suit him, but he still had to do the running when the chips were down in the straight. He was a very effective racehorse today. I’m very pleased for him, and I think he’ll take good confidence from the win.”
Shock ‘Em Ova has now amassed a total of A$186,850 in stakes, a testament to the dedication of trainer Alex Rae, who also shares ownership of the gelding.
“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into this horse. The key is getting him to switch off and race properly,” Rae remarked.
“It’s great to win a race on a Group One day like this at Caulfield today, but we’re looking at the bigger picture, so I loved the way Craig dropped him out and rode him quietly. That’s going to hold him in good stead as we pick him up in distance later on.”
While Shock ‘Em Ova still maintains a relatively low rating, Rae remains optimistic about his future, stating, “He still has quite a low rating, so he’ll just continue to go through the grades for now. He’s still working things out a little bit. He’s a bit of a bozo, really. Hopefully he’ll continue winning and continue to toughen up, and then we can target better races as he gets older and stronger.”
Looking ahead, Rae believes that Shock ‘Em Ova may truly shine at higher levels during the autumn season. He explained, “When you keep winning races, it forces your hand to step up and run in better races a bit more quickly. But there’s plenty of prize-money around this spring for us to pick our way through the grades. Hopefully, come the autumn, his rating will be high enough that we can target something really nice.”
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