Sheidel to use her speed in Robert Sangster Stakes

Linsday Park co-trainer Tom Dabernig is tipping Sheidel will use her brilliant gate speed and take up the running in the Group 1 $1m Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

Sheidel, above, will use her brilliant early speed to take up the running in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Sheidel, above, will use her brilliant early speed to take up the running in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Hong Kong’s champion jockey the ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira will be looking to keep his winning association with Sheidel intact after having ridden the mare twice for two wins in the Group 3 $200,000 Sensis Stakes (1100m) at Flemington during the 2016 Melbourne Carnival and in the Group 1 $500,000 The Resimax Group Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield in the Autumn.

“Group 1 winning mare. She should find the lead in this and be in it for a long way,” Dabernig said.

“She narrowly got beaten in the race last year by a short half head.”

Moreira has also been given the job of getting Sheidel to go one better than last year when the Holy Roman Emperor mare was narrowly beaten by Precious Gem in the 2016 Robert Sangster Stakes when ridden by Matthew Neilson.

Co-trainer David Hayes is quietly confident that Sheidel can claim this year’s trophy and said that the mare is in fine shape to go one better this year after finishing an unlucky second to Precious Gem twelve months ago.

“If the interference wasn’t there (last year) she probably would have won,’’ Hayes told The Advertiser.

“She had a couple of issues which we’ve managed to fix and now she’s a happy horse and when they are happy they normally run accordingly.’’

Hayes has freshened up Sheidel since the mare led and ran sixth to Silent Sedition in the Group 1 $500,000 Keogh Homes William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on March 24 and has tuned her up with an impressive jump out win at Geelong and with the ‘Magic Man’ to ride again, he is tipping her very hard to beat.

“She dominated her trial,’’ Hayes said.

“She won by about three lengths and looked to be going along really well.”

Sheidel will jump from the middle of the pack at barrier ten in the twenty horse Robert Sangster Stakes field and has remained fairly steady around the $5 mark on the second line of betting at Ladbrokes.com.au just behind the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained English at $4.60.

The Lindsay Park Team of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig will also saddle up longshots Miss Gunpowder ($26) and Hear The Chant ($81).

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.