Latest News

By Ray Hickson

He’s giving away age and experience to his opposition but Shangri La Spring is a young horse that jockey Tim Clark can see continuing his rise through the grades at Rosehill on Saturday.

Jockey Tim Clark (Pic: Steve Hart).

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained colt wasn’t one of the stables glut of two-year-old winners last season, though he did show promise with a debut second, but Clark said with a bit of time the son of Castelvecchio has really emerged.

He’ll step up to city company, albeit in a race that has been affected by scratchings, in the Canadian Club Handicap (1500m) eyeing a hat-trick with just the three starts under his belt and as the only three-year-old taking on horses a year older.

“It looks a winnable race if he executes well,’’ Clark said.

“He is exciting and I’m looking forward to riding him again in better company.

“He’s come back in really good order and he’s put two really strong wins together. He’s heading in the right direction, he’s on the right trajectory now.”

Shangri La Spring, $2.80 with TAB on Thursday, made light work of a maiden at Kembla Grange a month ago when returning as a three-year-old then backed it up with a dominant Hawkesbury win at 1400m on November 21.

Clark said the colt, who cost $325,000 as a yearling, has continued to improve with the benefit of time and feels he has the right attributes to help him cope as the races get stronger.

“Gai and Adrian have a good handle on all their horses and he probably wasn’t quite ready, even though he went to the races at two, and needed more time to mature,’’ he said.

“This is another step up for him but it does look like a suitable race to have a crack at.

“If he can reproduce what he’s done in his first couple and keep taking that little improvement each time he’ll be hard to beat.

“He’s got a beautiful cruising speed and does it effortlessly, and he can quicken off that. It’s a good recipe to have in a racehorse.”

Clark, who recently passed the 1600 career winners mark, also partners with the Waterhouse/Bott stable in the first and ninth races at Rosehill on lightly raced three-year-old Manuscript and the recently gelded five-year-old Rise Of The Masses.

He said Manuscript, an easy first-up maiden winner at Wyong a month ago, faces some formidable opposition in the Petaluma Handicap (1200m) but can only see upside in the gelding.

“He’s progressing the right way, he’s always been a sharp little horse and he’s come back in good order,’’ he said.

“It was a strong win on his resumption. This is a pretty stiff test but he will give a good account of himself.

“He has a racing style that will suit Rosehill and any chinks in the favourites’ armour he’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

On face value, Rise Of The Masses might be outsprinted in the Toyota Forklifts Handicap (1100m) but Clark has been impressed with his sharpness in his recent trials.

Shangri La Spring wins at Hawkesbury on November 21

The five-year-old has won first-up at his past two preparations but they were at 1300m and 1400m.

“The 1100m is probably a bit on the short side for him but he has a good fresh record and he should sprint well fresh,’’ Clark said.

“He’s had the two shorter trials this time so they’re probably keeping him a bit fresher.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting