One of the possible Epsom Handicap runners for trainer Chris Waller in Saturday week’s feature, Dawn Wall is accepted for the 2017 Shannon Stakes this weekend at Rosehill Gardens.
Good Project carries the top weight in Saturday’s Shannon Stakes 2017 field at Rosehill Racecourse. Photo: Steve Hart.
The Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Shannon Stakes (1500m) offers gallopers a final shot to gain a ballot and penalty free ride into the Group 1 $1 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) field seven days later at Randwick.
Set to run as Rosehill Race 5 at 2:35pm (AEST) on Golden Rose Stakes Day on Saturday, this season’s Shannon Stakes field is already down to just nine runners.
Two of the original 11 final acceptors have been scratched out in favour of a run in the Group 2 $400,000 Golden Pendant (1400m) at the same meeting: the Bjorn Baker-trained Bonny O’Reilly and Waller’s Omei Sword who had the inside Shannon Stakes barrier draw.
Waller will still be dually represented in the Shannon Stakes however with the 59kg top weight Good Project and Dawn Wall who gets in on the 53kg minimum.
Dawn Wall holds an Epsom Handicap nomination for Saturday week and in futures markets on the classic the four-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock is rated a $17 chance.
She is the shortest-priced of the Shannon Stakes runners in those pre-field Epsom Handicap odds at Ladbrokes.com.au and needs to win to make the Group 1 field currently sitting 69th on the Epsom order of entry.
Her stablemate Good Project is also Epsom Handicap nominated, the six-year-old entire equal 24th on the ballot and at a quote of $26 to make the line-up and score the upset.
Hugh Bowman rides the son of Not A Single Doubt this weekend as Good Project, runner-up to Scales Of Justice in Perth’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) last November, looks to improve on a second last (sixth) to Deploy a fortnight ago in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m).
Two other mares meanwhile are dually accepted in the fields for the Golden Pendant and Shannon Stakes with the Hawkes Racing-trained Theo Marks Stakes runner-up Euro Angel and Bjorn Baker’s four-year-old daughter of Snitzel Lubiton.
Baker is likely to keep Lubiton in the line-up however having already withdrawn her stablemate Bonny O’Reilly and the Warwick Farm-based horseman also has Imposing Lass in the Shannon Stakes field.
Both Lubiton and Imposing Lass are on a short turnaround having run eighth and fifth respectively in last Friday’s Group 3 Tibbie Stakes (1400m) at Newcastle in a close finish behind the winner Zanbagh.
See below for the full Shannon Stakes 2017 field and barriers, the markets to reopen shortly at Ladbrokes.com.au.
2017 Shannon Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw
Rosehill Race 5 (2:35pm) – 23/09/2017
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7x0472x5x6 | GOOD PROJECT | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 10 | 59kg | 104 |
| 2 | 60x57864x7 | MIGHTY LUCKY | Fred Cowell | Chris O’Brien | 2 | 57kg | 100 |
| 3 | 1x11130x15 | BONNY O’REILLY (NZ) | Bjorn Baker | Jason Collett | 9 | 56kg | 102 |
| 4 | 0x20407x23 | EURO ANGEL (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Brenton Avdulla | 5 | 55.5kg | 101 |
| 5 | 7x1215x141 | WASHINGTON HEIGHTS | Gerald Ryan | Kerrin McEvoy | 8 | 55kg | 96 |
| 6 | 9x12x27x56 | OMEI SWORD | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 1 | 54.5kg | 99 |
| 7 | 515141105x | DARK EYES | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Adam Hyeronimus | 4 | 54.5kg | 95 |
| 8 | x55250x118 | LUBITON | Bjorn Baker | TBA | 7 | 53kg | 91 |
| 9 | 5111619×2 | DAWN WALL | Chris Waller | Corey Brown | 3 | 53kg | 90 |
| 10 | x4285x0x15 | HEARTLINGS | Kerry Parker | TBA | 6 | 53kg | 76 |
| 11 | 36x621x325 | IMPOSING LASS (NZ) | Bjorn Baker | TBA | 11 | 53kg | 95 |
