Jockey Dean Yendall enjoyed back-to-back wins on lightweight fillies in the Myer Classic 2017 this spring saluting aboard the well-supported Shoals.
Shoals held off the fast-finishing older mares to win the 2017 Myer Classic over the Flemington mile on VRC Derby Day. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Last Melbourne Cup Carnival the diminutive Yendall took out the Group 1 $500,000 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on the Thousand Guineas runner-up I Am A Star.
He was back on VRC Derby Day riding the sole three-year-old in the 2017 Myer Classic field, the Anthony Freedman-trained Shoals, who also finished second best in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) this season.
I Am A Star had the extra lead-up run via the Moonee Valley Fillies Classic, while Fastnet Rock filly Shoals came straight from the Thousand Guineas and further franked the form after the winner Aloisia beat home the boys in the Moonee Valley Vase.
It was a tactical and well-timed ride from Yendall who made use of the seven kilo weight advantage his mount Shoals had over the older mares at weight-for-age.
“I don’t mind riding these little fillies, my stature suits them,” Yendall said post-win.
“They barley even know I am on top of them.”
He settled her second behind the predicted pacemaker Global Glamour for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, sitting just on the outside of the last start Tristarc Stakes winner.
Global Glamour and Shoals were the two best in Myer Classic betting and they straightened together with Prompt Response also moving up at the 300m.
At the 150m Shoals gave a kick, Yendall pushing the button and the filly responding well late after working hard to be the first to attack Global Glamour and get to the front.
Looking a little wayward in the final strides, Shoals held in a terrific late effort to beat the fast-finishing Eckstein ($34) and Dixie Blossoms ($12) who added value to the Myer Classic trifecta.
“We began well but used a little bit to cross over,” Yendall said.
“She travelled really sweetly.
“I pushed the button a little bit early but I knew I had the seven kilo weight advantage.
“She held off the late ones late.
“It was a massive, massive effort.”
Trainer Anthony Freedman agreed that the plan came off perfectly in the Myer Classic results and that Shoals was a very tough little filly.
“We were always going to go forward and take any bad luck out of play and use the weight advantage,” he said.
“She’s very tough, not very big, but incredibly tough and trouble free and straightforward [to train].”
Shoals is likely to be sent to the paddock for a well-earned spell before returning for the autumn.
Check out the latest Spring Racing Carnival odds on the remaining Group 1 races including the 2017 Mebourne Cup now at Ladbrokes.com.au.
2017 Myer Classic Results & Finishing Order
Flemington Race 6 – 04/11/2017
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | SHOALS | Anthony Freedman | Dean Yendall | – | 10 | 50kg | $4.80F |
| 2 | 13 | ECKSTEIN | Kurt Goldman | Brenton Avdulla | 0.1L | 12 | 57kg | $41 |
| 3 | 8 | DIXIE BLOSSOMS | Ron Quinton | Corey Brown | 0.2L | 8 | 57kg | $12 |
| 4 | 10 | PROMPT RESPONSE | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Blake Shinn | 0.3L | 13 | 57kg | $13 |
| 5 | 3 | FOXPLAY | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 1.05L | 11 | 57kg | $10 |
| 6 | 14 | NOW OR LATER (IRE) | Robert Smerdon | Craig Williams | 1.25L | 7 | 57kg | $12 |
| 7 | 11 | FRENCH EMOTION | Chris Waller | Brad Rawiller | 2L | 6 | 57kg | $41 |
| 8 | 6 | HEAVENS ABOVE | Tim Martin | Adam Hyeronimus | 2.4L | 9 | 57kg | $16 |
| 9 | 2 | GLOBAL GLAMOUR | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 2.9L | 3 | 57kg | $6 |
| 10 | 7 | DANISH TWIST | Kris Lees | Glyn Schofield | 3.1L | 15 | 57kg | $71 |
| 11 | 1 | FLYING JESS | John Moloney | Tye Angland | 3.2L | 14 | 57kg | $31 |
| 12 | 9 | DAYSEE DOOM | Ron Quinton | Ben Melham | 3.3L | 16 | 57kg | $19 |
| 13 | 12 | SWORD OF LIGHT | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Damian Lane | 5.8L | 2 | 57kg | $51 |
| 14 | 5 | SILENT SEDITION | Andrew Noblet | Ms Katelyn Mallyon | 7.3L | 4 | 57kg | $8 |
| 15 | 17e | ELLICAZOOM | Neville Parnham | Steven Parnham | 10.05L | 5 | 57kg | $101 |
| 16 | 4 | I AM A STAR (NZ) | Shane Nichols | Dwayne Dunn | 14.8L | 1 | 57kg | $26 |
| – | 19e | PAYROLL | Richard Laming | Jamie Mott | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 20e | SHILLELAGH (NZ) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 15 | COOL PASSION | Tony McEvoy | Tommy Berry | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 18e | OREGON’S DAY | Mick Price | Mark Zahra | – | 0 | – | – |
