A “BLINKERED” SHAGGY PERHAPS FOR MELBOURNE

A “new look” Shaggy returns to the races on Saturday – but not necessarily in Sydney.

The Wyong Whiz will sport blinkers for the first time as trainer Allan Kehoe covers his bases in search of better ground for his talented young sprinter.

Kehoe intends nominating Shaggy for races in all three States on the eastern seaboard.

Along with the Listed The Rosebud (1100m) for three-year-olds at Rosehill Gardens, Kehoe will nominate him for a Benchmark 85 Handicap (1110m) at Doomben on Saturday and the Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield.

With more rain forecast for Sydney this week on already drenched tracks, Kehoe doesn’t want to be left high and dry if Rosehill is too wet.

“If that’s the case, Caulfield is most likely my preferred option,” Kehoe said this morning.

“Shaggy would be taking on older sprinters in a Benchmark 85 at Doomben, whereas the Caulfield race is restricted to three-year-old colts and geldings.

“If we go to Caulfield, I don’t think I will have any trouble securing a good jockey for him.”

Shaggy won three of his five starts as a two-year-old, and opened a new preparation when seventh to the promising Hawkesbury colt Nashville Jack in a 2YO Handicap (1100m) at Royal Randwick on July 26.

“He was beaten only three and a half lengths, and definitely has taken good improvement from that race, which was his first since early March,” Kehoe said.

Whilst Shaggy won his first two starts at Coffs Harbour and the Sunshine Coast on soft tracks, they were against inferior opposition.

He showed his real talent on a good surface when he trounced his rivals in the Pierro Plate (1100m) at Randwick in mid-February.

As for the addition of blinkers, Kehoe is excited by what he has seen on the training track.

“I’ve been waiting to put blinkers on Shaggy for a while, and it’s made a big difference,” he said.

“The blinkers have really switched him on.

“He flew in a gallop here the other morning.”

Fellow Wyong trainer Kim Waugh’s first runner of the new season brought success at Newcastle yesterday.

Her debutante Balmain Darling handled the “Heavy 10” track in a 900m Super Maiden Handicap as though she was born in a swamp.

Ridden by Donovan Dillon, the three-year-old daughter of Territories started a $4 second favorite on the back of two recent good trials, and defeated The Warrior ($10) and Lady Talea ($7.50).

Balmain Darling is the second foal of the Nick Moraitis-bred Northern Meteor mare Mary’s Dawn, who won four races (three in NSW and the other in Queensland).

Story John Curtis, August 10, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos