Provincial Championship form shines at Hawkesbury with Shazee Lee
LOCAL filly Shazee Lee created the biggest upset of the day at Hawkesbury when taking out the Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas at big odds.
The three-year-old came into the race having finished seventh in the Provincial Championships Final and punters didn’t want anything to do with it. It paid $59.50 at WilliamHill.com.au and showed that the little guys of racing can beat the big stables.
The Scott Singleton-trained daughter of Ready’s Image got itself into the clear in the straight and came with a big late run. Many of the top elects which included Calanda, Rosa Carolina and Generalissimo were unable to find the gaps in the straight in a messy race down the Hawkesbury straight.
That didn’t concern Singleton, however, who noted that its form was better than it appeared on paper.
“It (Provincial Championships Final) looked disappointing, but I still thought she was going alright,” Singleton said.
“The run before the heat when she ran second, everyone had her down as a wet tracker, but it was dry that day. She came from last, the sectionals she must have run.”
He hasn’t made any immediate plans with the filly, which extended its career record to three wins from 11 starts.
“We’ll taker her home, have a good look at her,” he said. “She’s been up for a little while even though she hasn’t done a lot of racing.
“We’ll just let her tell us.”
Winning jockey Jay Ford said the key to winning was getting the filly to switch off early, which he learnt earlier in the week.
“They ran a good clip, just got to get her to switch off because she’s got a good turn-of-foot,” Ford said.
“We were able to utilise that late and pick our way through the field. Once she struck the gap I knew I was the winner and she hit the line hard.
“She’s a bit quirky, I had a sit on her earlier in the week during track work and I’m glad I did. She has a few traits and when she wants to go, she’ll go.
“If you can put her to sleep early she showed what she can do late.”
The race featured many hard luck stories which included second placegetter Prompt Response. The talented three-year-old sat three wide on the pace throughout and looked the winner until very late in the race.
Race-favourite Calanda had no room in behind a wall of horses in the straight and punters should forgive that effort. The likes of Rosa Carolina and Generalissimo were in the same boat and should be followed throughout their winter campaigns.