Blake Shinn is one of the most in-form jockeys in Australia right now, and he has given the Michael Freedman-trained Ducasse (+500) a ride from the top draw when claiming victory in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes at Randwick.
After jumping from barrier one, Shinn allowed the son of Trapeze Artist to find his feet and hold the box seat position behind The Years (+3000) and Hi Dandy (+5000) who ran the race along at a solid tempo.
As the leaders began to struggle, Shinn pushed the winner between them and took over with 300m to go, while Mchale (+1500) railed up the inside and joined him for a few strides.
Sustaining his run from the top of the straight, it was Ducasse who held all his rivals at bay as the likes of Tanhauser (+1200) and Kintyre (+600) finished off strong down the middle but couldn't pick up the winner, who was too strong at the end of 1600m.
Michael Freedman was very pleased with the win of Ducasse, and he spoke post-race.
“I think of all my runners today, he was the one I was least worried about the surface, he's got form on soft ground and Blake gave him the absolute perfect ride,” Freedman said.
“Big thrill. It's always good to get a winner on a big day like today.
“He hasn't had a lot of luck with barriers over the last 12 months either.
“He's always been a horse that we've had plenty of time for, hence he's been running in those good quality three-year-old races.
“I thought his last two runs in the Randwick Guineas and the Rosehill Guineas were both good, solid efforts, but probably coming back to the mile with that 2000-metre run under his belt on a rain-affected track under his belt, it panned out well.
“Thanks to Tommy Berry too, he galloped him for me on Tuesday and we took the blinkers off on his recommendation, so I probably owe him one there.”
Blake Shinn picked up his first win on the opening day of The Championships.
“He's an interesting horse, he's a bit of thinker,” Shinn said of the winner.
“Michael said Tommy Berry galloped him Tuesday morning and elected to pull the blinkers off him and, who knows, that could have been the winning move.
“He's a colt, he was back significantly in grade today, that was a big key to getting him over the line, but still, he had to apply himself and that's what he did.”