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| Staff Writer |
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Danny Williams, who is headed to Bathurst, has stated that Shelby Sixtysix may be seen in Saturday’s A$1m Concorde Stakes at Royal Randwick, featuring against racing's cult figure Nature Strip and Eduardo.
The race is a crucial indicator of The Everest prospects of past winner Nature Strip and 2021 placegetter Eduardo. Although Shelby Sixtysix has won the Group One Galaxy, he is best known for beating Nature Strip home and getting within inches of Eduardo in the 2022 Challenge Stakes.
"We will nominate him for the Concorde but if it looks a little bit out of depth for him, we will wait another week. There is a very nice race for him at Rosehill, a 1100m Benchmark 88 and that looks ideal for him,'' Williams said.
"He has come up really well. He is such a gross horse, he takes so much time to get fit. He has had three trials and a gallop on Saturday morning.
"If we were to run in the Concorde it would be similar to what we have done in the past which is to run him to try and get him a bit fitter.
"Obviously the class of that race is going to be extremely tough. All we would like to see him do is to recoup some confidence.''
Newcomers Raise Hell & Gypsy Romance: A Winning Team?
Williams is currently focused on the upcoming Bathurst meeting on Monday, where he will be bringing along two of his team members, Raise Hell and Gypsy Romance. Both horses are making their first appearance in their respective assignments and were foaled just a day apart. Raise Hell has had a strong record when resuming at Gundagai and Goulburn, making him one of the most dependable horses in the team.
"Raise Hell is a bit of a stress-head; he had really had enough by the time his last start came around,'' Williams explained.
"It was a forgive and forget run, he stressed out that much, so we put him out after that.
"His runs prior to that were all good and I would expect him to run a similar race first-up on Monday.''
Although the numbers for Raise Hell seem impressive for the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1100m), Williams is aware of the weight of 61.5kgs associated with his name.
"He is only a little horse. That is maybe his biggest downfall there carrying that sort of weight but I think he is going pretty well,'' the trainer said.
"We could have claimed but Jean Van Overmeire is riding fantastic at the moment.''
According to Williams, Gypsy Romance is the first horse they bred out of six broodmares. The mare is by Rothesay, a proven sire of stakes-winners, and the mare she is out of is from the same family as Rothesay. Williams deliberately crossed the breed to toughen Gypsy Romance up, and it worked. Although she is tough as nails, Williams believes she is looking for 2000m and may find the 1200m a little short. However, she has come back a little bit better and is working well. Williams is expecting a bold run from her, and she is on the fresh side, which is good.