Generalissimo salutes in the South Pacific Classic
BLAKE Shinn has got on the board early on day two of The Championships after the star jockey piloted Generalissimo to victory in the South Pacific Classic.
Generalissimo was camped in midfield for the majority of the journey, and as the runners spread wide on the track Shinn remained calm and went underneath them on the rail to hit the front when it mattered to return $15.60 at Sportsbet.com.au.
Rosa Carolina (+180 at WilliamHill.com.au) battled strongly alongside Generalissimo but could not get its nose in front on the line, while Siren’s Fury flashed home late down the outside to round out the placings and return $4.20 at Crownbet.com.au.
The win was the horse’s first victory since taking out a class two at Hawksbury back in October of 2016, and jockey Blake Shinn said the horse relished the drop in class after competing in Darby Munro Stakes a month ago.
Generalissimo defeats a gallant Rosa Carolina in the 2nd at Randwick pic.twitter.com/psmkM5o3q3
— The Championships (@ChampionshipsRR) April 8, 2017
“The horse did a really great job,” Shinn said.
“He obviously ran on that really wet track at Golden Slipper Day, he returned here today obviously coming back a little bit in grade, up to 1400m.
“I found him really nice to handle,” the jockey said.
“(Trainer Garry White) told me he was going to give me a lovely ride and we came here with a little bit of confidence.”
Shinn said the way the race unfolded put him somewhat on the back foot but when daylight came for Generalissimo the win was there for the taking.
“He put himself into a nice position, (but) I was a little bit concerned when Hussterical handed up the front and Alliterate was leading but I was able to extricate my way out approaching the turn to find that passage on the inside.
“The horse did the rest, I only had to steer him so it was great.”