Derby winner Shoot Out hoping to sprint fresh on path to Melbourne Cup
AJC Australian Derby winner Shoot Out is looking to return with a win in this Saturday’s Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
A quality line up, including Group 1 Goodwood Handicap winner Velocitea, promising sprinter Tollesprit and old-timers Mr Baritone and Douro Valley, will contest the sprint.
Trainer John Wallace is confident that his star gelding can win the Bletchingly at the start of a long campaign which will take in the Cox Plate (2040m) and the Melbourne Cup (3200m).
“He is so versatile, it would not surprise me at all if he came out and won,” Wallace told the Herald Sun’s Adam Hamilton.
That said, he believes that Shoot Out is a stayer.
“A lot of the really good stayers have been versatile enough to win much shorter races,” he said.
“The Melbourne Cup is a target.”
Shoot Out resumed from a let up with a victory in the Group 2 Royal Sovereign Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in February, with wins in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) and Group 1 AJC Australian Derby (2400m) later in that preparation.
He has opened at $3.70 with TAB Sportsbet for Saturday’s race, with Velocitea the early favourite at $3.40.
Written by Andrew Hawkins
