Co-trainer Shannon Hope has revealed that he is keen to get Fenway into the 2015 Cox Plate after she recorded an impressive win in the 2015 Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley tonight.
Fenway finished over the top of May’s Dream to take out the 2015 Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley tonight. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Fenway was settled in third position by jockey Blake Shinn in the early stages of the Stocks Stakes and she received a lovely run into the race, while Amanpour took up the running from favourite May’s Dream.
Jockey Vlad Duric put the foot down on Amanpour coming around the bend, but she stopped quickly and it was left for Fenway and May’s Dream to fight out the finish in the Stocks Stakes.
May’s Dream looked as though she had the race won at the 150 metre mark, but Fenway fought back late and she hit the line strongest to record her first race win since she took out the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) earlier this year.
Shinn has had plenty of success riding for his step-brother and step-father in the past 12 months and the emotional hoop was clearly thrilled to have won another feature race with the talented mare.
“This means a lot to me,” Shinn said.
“She probably gave me one of my greatest thrills on the racetrack winning for my family on this horse in the Vinery Stakes and to come here on a Group 1 night and pull this race off for my family means the world to me.
“She was presented in great order.
“It was an exciting race from the 400, but she just delivered and dug deep to win.
“I had to be positive early and I didn’t want to be in a position getting dictated to, I wanted to sort of dictate the race myself and I had the barrier to do that.
“I had to make May’s Dream work a little bit and from the 700 I peeled her out three wide.
“We know that she is better over a little bit longer, so I used her staying ability and when it go into a dog fight I knew she would be there for me.
“It is just a credit to my family, they are great trainers and it is great to be heading to some big races.”
Hope said that the game plan was always to ride Fenway aggressively in the early stages of the Stocks Stakes and he was delighted that the Stocks Stakes went exactly to plan.
Fenway was originally set to contest the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield next weekend, but Hope is now setting his sights higher with the High Chaparral mare and he is keen to run her in either the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 24 or the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day.
“He came out with a game plan and he always said that he was going to make them work in the first 300 to make use of the gate,” Hope said.
“We were always going to get over today.
“The original plan was to head to the Toorak after the Let’s Elope, but she didn’t have a hard enough run and we went to this path.
“I would love to have a Cox Plate runner, she seems to handle the Valley and I will speak to Greg on Monday to see what I have to do to get into it.”
May’s Dream had every possible chance, but she was no match for Fenway in the final 100 metres, while Queen Of The Turf Stakes winner Amanpour produced another flat effort.
