Blake Shinn gladly accepts the pressure that comes with riding the favourite in a $5 million race, especially when that horse is Alligator Blood.
Shinn rode the horse for the first time in his first-up Group 1 Futurity Stakes triumph and on Tuesday at The Valley after a final pre-race gallop, he said Alligator Blood is right on target for his autumn goal, both physically and mentally.
“He’s such a great horse to ride,” Shinn marvelled. “You can sit him forward and he won a Stradbroke sitting off them midfield.
“He’s tough. He can do work. It will come down to the barrier I suppose, but well just assess the race as it unfolds.
“When you ride a horse like him you are pretty confident in what you have got and what race you can ride.”
Shinn figures his opposition must improve to challenge his horse, who is the current $3 favourite with Sportsbet.
“I only really think he has to hold his form to be honest,” Shinn said.
“Gai (Waterhouse) had him pretty well tuned first-up and just a matter of ticking him over. He’s put in a couple of nice maintenance gallops and he’s great.
“His action is good, his mind is good. He feels like he’s the king of the castle at the moment.”
Shinn said Tuesday’s gallop was everything he had hoped for five days out from the race.
“He worked nice,” he said. “He’s ticking over very well. He hasn’t put a foot wrong since his last run. He came here today for his last bit of work, so all systems go,” he said.
– racing.com
