Shanwah’s arrival at Sha Tin last month drew admiring glances, but his first run left connections wanting more. On Sunday (30 November), trainer Douglas Whyte is banking on a step up to 1600 metres and the return of familiar headgear to help the Too Darn Hot gelding show the promise that made him a star in Australia.
The four-year-old Australian import captured attention with a stellar three-year-old campaign Down Under, amassing AU$738,000 in prizemoney, including wins in the G2 Caulfield Autumn Classic (1800m) and the G2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m), before placing third in the G1 Australian Derby (2400m). His Hong Kong debut over 1400 metres was less auspicious, finishing 11th in a Class 2 handicap, but Whyte believes that run laid the groundwork for improvement.
“I thought his debut run was acceptable for the amount of work I was able to get into him,” Whyte said. “I think that’s what he’s looking for – 1600 metres, possibly further – but 1400 was somewhere to start him, and at least he’s had that run into him – he’s got a bit of mileage into his legs. He just needs to adjust from a race tempo and pressure point of view, and then he’ll be on his way.”
Sunday’s Class 2 1600m Turf Handicap offers Shanwah a chance to demonstrate his development before he faces stiffer competition, including the world’s record earner and 10-time Group 1 winner Romantic Warrior in the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in December. Keagan de Melo, who departs Hong Kong next week still seeking his first win of the season, takes the reins.
Whyte has reinstated blinkers on Shanwah, a familiar feature from his Australian campaigns. “Good horses do adjust, and that one run has hopefully brought him on mentally – I know it’s brought him on physically,” Whyte said. “He’s also got the blinkers going back on him. I think those will certainly make him a lot more focused. So there’s a few positives.”
Another contender with international ambitions is Cody Mo’s Pray For Mir, a reserve for the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m). Ridden by long-term partner Matthew Chadwick, the five-year-old will jump from gate 14 carrying top weight (135lb), following an 11th-place finish in last week’s G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m). Chadwick remains optimistic: “He’s very fit, he’s very healthy. Unfortunately, the last couple of times here, the race hasn’t been run to suit. If he gets the right run, he always puts his heart out there.”
Sha Tin’s 10-race card begins at 12.45pm with a Class 4 1000m Turf Handicap, offering a full day of racing excitement before the key mile showdown later in the program.
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