Victorian filly Fenway has upstaged odds-on favourite First Seal to win the $400,000 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill.
In the sweetest result for leading jockey Blake Shinn, Fenway held off First Seal ($1.80), the filly he was sacked from after a narrow Coolmore Classic defeat.
Fenway
It was a Group One breakthrough for Shinn’s family with his stepfather Lee Hope and stepbrother Shannon training the three-year-old in partnership.
“My first Group One for my family, it means so much,” Shinn said.
“I wouldn’t have got to where I am today without my stepbrother and my stepdad. They taught me how to ride.”
Shinn gave Fenway the run of the race and he made his move at the 400m with First Seal also looming.
But Fenway kept a clear advantage to the line, denying First Seal by a short neck.
Thunder Lady ran a promising ATC Australian Oaks trial in finishing third – a length further back.
Shinn said he came to terms with his sacking from First Seal with the knowledge he would be riding a horse trained from his family stable.
“It’s part and parcel of the industry (getting taken off horses), but it’s funny how things work out,” he said.
Fenway carried some support from $26 to start at $21.
