Jockey Blake Shinn has achieved his first Group 1 triumph following a severe leg injury, as Saintly Dancer led from start to finish to win the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield.
Shinn sustained a fractured leg in a fall during last year’s Melbourne Cup and resumed race riding at the commencement of the current racing season.
After being narrowly defeated aboard Changing Colours, a horse belonging to his partner Lucy Yeoman, in the Toorak Handicap last week, Shinn delivered an exceptional ride on Saintly Dancer to secure the 1600m Group 1 event for fillies on Saturday.
Saintly Dancer, trained by Ciaron Maher, took the lead from barrier four and held off stablemate Icelady by 1-ΒΌ lengths, with the co-favourite Regal Ambition a length further back in third.
“This is my first Group 1 since I’ve been back,” Shinn stated.
“It certainly hasn’t been an easy road, but you just keep turning up and put the work in and you get repaid with a big winner here today.
“It’s all worth it and I just want to thank everyone who’s supported me and my circle and outside too for that matter.
“The racing industry has been wonderful so it’s nice to come back on a big day and show what we’re made of.”
Saintly Dancer has rapidly advanced through the racing ranks. She experienced a narrow defeat on debut at Geelong during the final meeting of her two-year-old campaign before winning at Sandown.
Last month, Saintly Dancer finished second to Icelady in the Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m), and then solidified her status with a dominant six-length victory at Flemington a fortnight prior.
The filly, acquired for $100,000 at the Gold Coast sales, is now a Group 1 winner.
“It’s a dream,” commented Jack Turnbull, the National Assistant Trainer for Ciaron Maher Racing.
“It’s what it’s all about and gives everyone every chance to get into a racehorse.
“The journey that she has taken us on, and First Light, has been amazing so far.
“She’s been lightly raced, she will get further and strengthen up further and will get better. She’s a little more street wise as we’ve raced her and trained her.
“It’s the beauty of training and managing young horses, you don’t know their ceiling.
“You take them away and you don’t know what level they will get to but it’s really great and it’s great with our system that we can nurture them through.
“We had four in the race and we quinella it. That’s what it’s simply all about.”
Turnbull commended Shinn’s ride, noting his strong connection with the Maher stable. “He’s got a very good clock and is a big-time player,” Turnbull remarked.
“He has a good affiliation with our stable since his return to race riding and with Tim and First Light.
“He nailed it on the day and it was well deserved.”
Punters are advised to check the latest racing odds for upcoming feature races at Australian betting sites.
