It wasn’t quite as easy as last year, but Shoot Out still got the job done in Saturday’s Chipping Norton Stakes to win the first Group One race of the Sydney autumn.
It took until the last stride for Shoot Out, the $4 favourite, to catch up to Monton ($31) and another few moments before it was confirmed he had stuck his head down in time.
Trainer Chris Waller withdrew Shoot Out from his lead-up in the Apollo Stakes two weeks ago when rain brought a heavy track on race day but a recent barrier trial win and a dressage lessons kept the six-year-old up to the mark.
“His strapper Jo has been doing a few dressage things with him,” Waller said.
“I wasn’t concerned about him missing the Apollo. He won the George Main first-up last year.
“He’s had a couple of course proper gallops at Rosehill and it wasn’t a hard decision to take him out of the Apollo.
“Horses like this can do exceptional things.”
Waller struggled with his emotions as he talked about the six-year-old who joined his stable with Group One wins in the Randwick Guineas and Australian Derby on his record.
He has won another three, all over 1600 metres and Waller said the Doncaster Mile was on the radar.
Shoot Out finished second in the 2012 Doncaster to More Joyous with the mare unlikely to defend her title due to her topweight of 59.5kg.
“I think he’s well weighted with 57, just half a kilo more than last year,” Waller said.
Shoot Out’s stablemate Danleigh, who won the 2011 Chipping Norton, ran a gallant third and will head to the George Ryder (1500m) on April 6, a likely target for the winner.
While Waller and owners Graeme and Linda Huddy were elated by the win, jockey Hugh Bowman admitted he was not sure he had won.
“It took me until the last stride to get there and then I didn’t know if I’d won,” he said.
“He was bolting on the turn and things weren’t going my way.
“I wasn’t sure if we’d got there but good horses can get you home and he did.
“I have to take my hat off to Chris Waller for making the call not to run him in the Apollo and keeping him in one piece for this race.”
New Zealand mare Silent Achiever finished fourth while fellow Kiwi King Mufhasa was a tiring 10th of the 12 runners.
Havana Rey was fifth at his first foray into Group One racing while Waller’s other runners – Gatewood, Albert The Fat and Kelinni – finished seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.
