Recommendation gets five-star rating in Sir John Monash Stakes romp
Ciaron Maher-trained gelding destined for bigger targets following seven-length demolition of rivals
Ciaron Maher admitted he didn’t expect Recommendation (Shalaa) to ‘win that easy’ after witnessing the gelding scoot home by an impressive seven lengths to win Saturday’s Sir John Monash Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m).
The four-year-old put himself firmly into spring contention with his all-the-way demolition in Caulfield’s Group 3 feature under a confident Blake Shinn ride.
Jumping out of barrier six on his first outing since a sixth placing in The Country Discovery (1200m) on March 29, Recommendation was soon on the pace and just headed the lead over Little Miss Kubi (Headwater) and Party For Two (Sidestep).
Rounding the home bend under a tight hold from Shinn, the gelded son of Shalaa (Invincible Spirit) had all of his seven rivals working hard in the home straight and, once allowed to go on with his effort, pulled effortlessly clear to defeat Party For Two by a clear margin. The winner’s stablemate, Mrs Chrissie (Per Incanto), finished a further half-length behind in third place.
“I didn’t expect him to win that easy,” Maher told Racing.com. “His first jump-out, normally we take them to a couple of jump-outs before racing, but his recovery and his data was very good.
“Blake rang me early and was very keen to get on and said: ‘He’s the horse I want to ride’. He looks much better there than he would at Cranbourne on Monday.”
Recommendation was already twice a winner at stakes level before Saturday’s victory, taking out the 2023 editions of the Zeditave Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and Razor Sharp Handicap (Listed, 1200m), while ran a very creditable sixth in the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) just two starts back, a performance Maher made reference to in his post-race interview.
“He wasn’t beaten far in an Oakleigh Plate on a firm deck,” the winning trainer said.
“I actually referenced the Oakleigh Plate [to Blake] and said he was running ten seconds with his head in the air at the 400 [metres] and still kicked, so I said, ‘I think he’s a bit better than these’.”
Maher revealed that the Bletchingly Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) back at Caulfield on July 27 is likely to be the next assignment for Recommendation after which he will likely be aimed at the Aurie’s Star Handicap (Gr 3, 1200m) on August 3 at Flemington.
Recommendation’s win provided Shinn with the first leg of a treble at Caulfield on Saturday which took his Victorian premiership total victories to 71 wins, ten wins behind Damian Lane and the winning jockey was left impressed by the gelding’s performance.
“I had a little look to the big screen and saw the margin and I thought we’ve got it all over now,” the winning jockey said.
“The track has been playing a bit on pace and hard to make ground and once we were able to own the front and travel like he did he was going to be hard to beat – he’s a class horse.
“I think he might have come up better this prep than last prep.”
Bred by Pacific King, Recommendation (4 g Shalaa – Adviso by Street Cry) races for a large group of owners which include Nick and Gail Psaltis.
He is the best of three winners from four to race out of the unraced Street Cry (Machiavellian) mare Adviso, herself out of the four-time Grade 1-winning mare Proviso (Dansili).
A yearling sister to Recommendation was purchased for $150,000 by Satomi Oka Bloodstock and Omen Bloodstock from the Arrowfield Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier this year.
After foaling a filly by The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) last spring, Adviso was covered by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice).
Shalaa will stand at Woodside Park Stud for $19,800 (inc GST) for the 2024 breeding season, down from the $22,000 (inc GST) he stood for in 2023.