Robert Smerdon’s first concern leading up to Saturday’s Oakleigh Plate was to give his filly Shamal Wind the right preparation.
Having done that, he wanted only to draw a favourable barrier.
Shamal Wind winning the Gucci Icons Of Heritage Stakes at Flemington - photo by Race Horse Photos Australia (Steven Dowden)
That hope was granted when No.1 came out against the filly’s name.
“Now it’s up to the jockey,” Smerdon said.
“And the way he’s going, I’m pretty satisfied.”
Shamal Wind will be ridden in the Group One sprint by Glen Boss who arrives at Caulfield on the back of winning doubles at the past two city meetings and with a seemingly unbeatable lead in the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership.
Shamal Wind, along with the West Australian Barakey, is one of two unbeaten horses in an edition of the 1100m dash that has attracted a high-class field that includes last year’s winner Woorim and the international star Ortensia.
But Smerdon firmly believes she is up to the task of winning her fourth race from as many starts and her second at stakes level.
“I always had this race in the back of my mind for her,” Smerdon said.
“I just wanted her to get through the first-up run and then draw a good gate.
“Her first-up win has helped her and I think she should get a better run this week.”
Before her win against older mares at the Moonee Valley two weeks ago, Shamal Wind had raced only against three-year-old fillies.
She made the transition successfully, surviving in a punishing finish at the Valley that has left no ill effects, according to her rider.
“I rode her like she was the best horse in the race at the Valley, but we should be able to get a better run at Caulfield,” Boss said.
“She was a three-year-old filly first-up against older mares, so she did a very good job to win.
“She’s a good, fast, stylish filly, a genuine horse.”
With Black Caviar absent, the Oakleigh Plate field reveals the quality of the sprinters who are scared of her.
Saturday’s topweight Ortensia is a Group One winner on three continents in the past year and probably Australia’s best international performer of the season.
But she avoided meeting Black Caviar at level weights at Flemington last week, trainer Paul Messara preferring to give weight all round at Caulfield.
Along with Woorim, Spirit Of Boom, Adebisi, Shamal Wind, Rescue Mission and Undeniably, she helps to make the Oakleigh Plate a worthy Group One event – and helps demonstrate just how good Black Caviar is.
