Weights played against Mark Zahra securing a Group One ride on Saturday but the jockey hopes to at least come away from the meeting with a win on sprinter Shamal Wind.
Zahra has been the regular rider of Luckygray this campaign but he wasn’t able to make the original 54.5kg allocated to the dual Group One winner when Toorak Handicap weights were declared.
Shamal Wind winning the Le Pine Funerals Handicap at Caulfield - photo by Race Horse Photos Australia
Dwayne Dunn picked up the ride only for Toorak weights to be raised 2.5kg when King Mufhasa didn’t accept.
While Zahra has to miss the Luckygray mount, he is happy to reunite with stablemate Shamal Wind in the Group Three Sportingbet Sprint Series Final (1200m).
“She won well first-up and has improved a lot from that,” Zahra said.
Shamal Wind was ridden to victory first-up over 1100m by apprentice Jackie Beriman at Caulfield.
“I rode her to win her first two starts and when she won up the straight at Flemington in the Listed race at her second start she was really impressive,” Zahra said.
“I was out for the autumn (after hip surgery) and she didn’t seem to come up.
“Hopefully she’s a spring horse because she looks really well at the moment.”
The Robert Smerdon-trained Shamal Wind is favourite at $3 in an early market with Aerobatics and Hazard on the second line at $7.
“She has got to carry the 58 (kilograms) and she’s only small, but she might be a bit better than them,” Zahra said.
