Blake Shinn has been booked to ride Who Shot Thebarman in the 2015 Sydney Cup and trainer Chris Waller has revealed that it is not ideal that regular jockey Glen Boss has been replaced on the talented stayer in the Group 1 event at Royal Randwick tomorrow.

Who Shot Thebarman is currently on the second line of 2015 Sydney Cup betting markets. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

Boss has partnered Who Shot Thebarman in five of his past seven starts and steered the Yamanin Vital gelding to two victories and a third place finish in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), but connections of the six-year-old were keen to engage the services of Shinn.

Waller told Racing Ahead that he found it difficult to understand why connections had taken Boss off Who Shot Thebarman for the 2015 Sydney Cup, but he remains hopeful that Shinn will be able to give the enigmatic stayer his chance to record his first win at the highest level of racing.

“Owners wanted Blake Shinn and it is as simple as that,” Waller said.

“I found it hard to understand because Glen has done a fantastic job on a very difficult horse to ride and I certainly put a good case up for Glen to stay aboard, but at the end of the day they pay the bills, I work for them and I realised I had done my dash.

“It is not ideal, but he still has a good jockey on board and I am sure that Blake will adapt pretty well to the horse and vice versa.

“Hopefully he will give him that chance that he deserves.

“He is another one that has an awkward gate, so I guess we will see how he jumps and the first 200 metres unfold and go from there.

“He is not an easy horse to maneuver, which is why Glen has done such a good job on him, but we won’t be fighting him and he will be where he wants to be.”

While Waller would prefer to have Boss on Who Shot Thebarman in the Sydney Cup, he is happy with the condition of the six-year-old heading into the race and he believes that the six-year-old is more than capable of winning the Sydney Cup on the back of his performances in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m), Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) and Group 1 The BMW (2400m).

“He has been very good, he is obviously in good form and he has had the right preparation,” Waller said.

“He is a genuine chance in the race.”

Who Shot Thebarman is currently available at 2015 Sydney Cup odds of $4.60 with Ladbrokes and he is on the second line of betting behind Hartnell ($2.20).