Sydney based jockey Blake Shinn will bypass the Chelmsford Stakes meeting at Randwick on Saturday and take up the offer to ride Tosen Stardom in the Group 1 $1m Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

Blake Shinn, above, is booked to ride Tosen Stardom in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.

Blake Shinn, above, is booked to ride Tosen Stardom in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.

Shinn will be replacing the suspended apprentice Ben Allen on the Darren Weir trained Tosen Stardom who will be second up in the Memsie Stakes following his first up fifth to Hartnell in the Group 2 $200,000 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 19.

“It’s a bit of a juggling act but there are no Group 1s in Sydney this week and Tosen Stardom’s a top horse and worth coming down for,” Shinn told racing.com.

“He’s obviously proven that he’s up a very high level and it’s nice to be heading down from Sydney. It’s what I want to be doing – targeting these big Group 1s.”

Shinn has ridden for Weir on several occasion in the past and is pleased to be reacquainted with Victoria’s premiership winning trainer.

“I have done a bit of riding for Darren over the years when I was an apprentice in Victoria,” Shinn said.

“I rode Star Exhibit in the Doomben Cup last season and won on Jennifer Lynn down in Melbourne over last year’s carnival and had a few rides for him last season so it’s great to be riding for him again.”

Tosen Stardom is one of four Weir trained horses among the eighteen nominations for the Memsie Stakes and joins stable star Black Heart Bart, French import Gailo Chop and Australian Cup winner Humidor.

Tosen Stardom is yet to win at Group 1 level but has been runner up twice with a second to Contributer in the 2015 $500,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill and a second to Black Heart Bart in the $500,000 italktravel Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield during the 2017 Melbourne Autumn Carnival.

Early betting for the Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au has Tosen Stardom marked as a $13 chance while the Lindsay Park trained Vega Magic sits at the top of the market order at $3.80 ahead of Black Heart Bart at $6.

Early market order for the Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.80 Vega Magic, $6 Black Heart Bart, $6.50 Hey Doc, $7 Le Romain, $9 Yankee Rose, $13 Ability, Tosen Stardom, I Am A Star, $17 Foxplay, Humidor, $26 Hardham, Seaburge, $34 Charmed Harmony, Jon Snow, $41 Gailo Chop, He Or She, Single Gaze, $51 Grande Rosso.

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.