Hit and run raid secures Cup
By Tim Howard
Star jockey Blake Shinn’s hit and run raid on Grafton’s July Racing Carnival has netted him a third Grafton Cup.
Shinn showed why he is rated one of the country’s top riders, piloting Pride of Dubai mare Deny Knowledge to the lead in the $200,000 Listed Grafton Cup (2350m), galloping home strongly to win by three quarters of length.
Backed into $2.45 favouritism, the Irish born galloper did not have it all her own way, with the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Touristic piling on the pressure in the home straight. The Chris Waller runner Thalassophile was a distant third.
Shinn had kept enough in reserve and Deny Knowledge powered her way to the line.
The Victorian-based rider, who had flown into town just for this race, said he had confidence in the horse from the time she paraded.
“I thought she paraded really, really well, better than last time,” Shinn said in a post race interview.
“Therefore her manners out on the track and in the race were perfect and I was able to put her where I wanted to be in that first two furlongs, which set the race up nicely for the last part.”
![Grafton Cup Jockey](https://thenorthernriverstimes.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NRT180724GraftonCupJockeySalutes-1024x829.jpg)
Grafton Cup winning jockey salutes the crowd as he rides back to scale after a masterful ride on six-year-old mare Deny Knowledge to secure the cup for a third time.
During the race Shinn made the most of his ride’s abilities.
“She’s a natural leader and at 24(00-metres), we may have been a little suspect,” he said.
“If I was going to burn the candle at both ends it was going to be hard and the pressure in the first 300 was quite quick, so there was an opportunity to drop in and rest around that first turn.
“When they backed off, I made a decision to roll to the top and get her into a zone where she loves to be, and once I was able to find the top, I was confident a long way out.”
It is 11 years since Shinn’s first Grafton Cup win on the Ciaron Maher-trained Mr O’Ceirin.
He won again for Gai Waterhouse two years later on Bonfire.
It was Deny Knowledge’s second start for the Yulong stable where she is trained by Melbourne Cup winning duo Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Purchased at the recent Magic Millions for $500,000, she repaid her new owners $109,000 with her win last Thursday.
Deny Knowledge’s track rider Henry Jaggard accepted the trophy from the CEO of race sponsor Westlawn Finance, Mark Dougherty.
![Deny Knowledge hits the line to win the $200,000 Westlawn Finance Grafton Cup from Touristic in second spot.](https://thenorthernriverstimes.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NRT180724GraftonCupFinish-1024x597.jpg)
Deny Knowledge hits the line to win the $200,000 Westlawn Finance Grafton Cup from Touristic in second spot.
He revealed the six-year-old’s good manners trackside and during the race were a fairly recent development.
“She’s definitely a temperamental horse, but she’s worth working with,” he said.
Jaggard said he ride all her track work and has been building a relationship with the horse since she came into the stable.
“She’s a proper athlete,” he said. “That doesn’t make her easy to get on with, but any trainer would like to think they can get the best out of her.”
He said though she was not built like a traditional stayer, she was going to become a very valuable horse for the Freedmans.
Her winnings from her last two starts have taken her prize money close to the $1 million mark with an overall record of eight wins and eight placings from 34 starts.
Jaggard said Deny Knowledge also had promise as a brood mare and was not sure how long her racing career might continue.
“There are some races coming up for her in the spring, so we’re concentrating on those,” he said.
The final race on the program, the $75,000 Sir James Kirby Quality (1000m) provided a fitting end to a high quality day’s racing.
Compelling Truth scored a slashing victory enhancing his credentials for The Kosciusko, coming up in in October.
The Mack Griffith-trained galloper overcame an awkward start to power home, beating Bomarea by nearly four lengths with Immoral further back in third.
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