By Duane Ranger
Shandale is realistically 13 months away from lining up in his first Auckland Cup, but don’t write of his chances of starting in the 2016 Group One feature at Alexandra Park just yet.
The 4-year-old Art Major entire’s trainer/driver Maurice McKendry said it was unlikely he would start in the Cup on New Year’s Eve, but he wasn’t completely writing the idea off.
“It all depends how he comes up this time in and who comes here for the big race. I think it might be a year early to take on the Purdon and Rasmussen big guns, but in saying that he has worked a treat this campaign. I’ll just see how he goes in the next few weeks,” Pukekohe-based McKendry said.
Shandale will have his first start on Friday night since winning consecutive races at Alexandra Park and Cambridge Raceway in July.
He has drawn one on the second line in the evening’s feature pace – the $14,999 Movenpick R77-R107 mobile.
“He’s trialed well this time in and I like the draw because we will be following out one of the favourites in Vasari. That horse won real well last start.
“This is the ideal race for my fella to return to racing. The 1700m will suit him down to the ground,” McKendry said.
Shandale has raced time times over the 1700m for two wins and four placings. Seven of his eight career wins have come at Alexandra Park – one of them in a fresh state.
This year’s New Zealand Derby place-getter resumed from his spell with a workout win, a second, and a fifth at Alexandra Park last month.
“He felt nice in all of those runs. The spell has done him the world of good. He’s a beautifully gaited pacer. Whatever he does this week he will be much better for it the next time he lines up,” McKendry said.
The Hall-Of-Famer said Shandale would continue to race in the north, with the races at the Auckland Cup Carnival in December his main aim.
“It would be nice to start in the Cup again but I’ll probably end up targeting one of the supporting races for him. Thereafter we will just see where he is at. I haven’t thought about Australia yet. I just want to see how much he has developed from a three to a four-year-old,” McKendry said.
He said Shandale wasn’t far behind some of the best horses he had trained like Percy the Punter (10 wins and $241,611), Mr Bojangles (nine wins and $134,089), and Ho Wong (seven wins and $72,225),
Shandale will be McKendry’s first starter to the races this season. Toughest for him to beat will be the Ray Green trained and David Butcher driven Vasari, who should lead from the ace.
The 3-year-old Art Major colt justified favouritism with an impressive win from the same draw last week when winning by two-and-a-quarter lengths and pacing the 2200m in a rapid 2:41.1 – mile rate 1:57.8.
If he repeats his final sectionals of seven days ago – 57.5 and 28.9 – then Shandale is going to have his work cut out coming off his back.
“He won very well didn’t he and that’s why I’m glad we are drawn right in behind him, rather than out wide. It’s the perfect come-back race for my fella,” McKendry stressed.
Rocker Band (6) and Ideal belle (4) can also figure in the photo finish.
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