Gun Toronado (IRE) sprinter Masked Crusader came up short when unplaced in the Group I VRC Newmarket Handicap on Saturday, but his Swettenham Stud based sire had a good back up horse in progressive sprinter Shelby Sixtysix, who scored a dominant win in the Group III ATC Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trained at Goulburn by Danny Williams, Shelby Sixtysix has been a perennial place-getter in Highway class Saturday races and then broke through for his first win at that level when the heavy tracks arrived in Sydney on February 26.
He backed up seven days later from that win to contest the Group II ATC Challenge Stakes and very nearly pulled off the upset of the century when splitting heavyweight star sprinters Eduardo and Nature Strip to finish second.
He failed by only a long head to catch Eduardo and that form made him look a good thing for the Maurice McCarten off a seven day back up and on another heavy track.
He surged home for Tommy Berry to end the winning run of Rule of Law in scoring by a length and a quarter to take his overall record to four wins and 11 placings from 23 starts with prizemoney in excess of $350,000.
An emotional Danny Williams can’t get over the change in fortunes for his stable favourite.
“The wet tracks, he is just excelling and he is a happy horse. It's a bit like happy horse, happy wife, happy life. The last seven days has just been an incredible ride. It was a thrill to win a Highway two weeks ago, a class two,” Williams said.
“We are just along for the ride. It's fantastic. I've got to thank everyone around me, it wouldn't happen (without them)."
Williams will be hoping the wet tracks continue with the Group I ATC The Galaxy next Saturday at Rosehill now on the agenda for Shelby Sixtysix.
“At this stage we will look at that,” said Williams
“The horse always comes first and we will see how he comes through it. He laid down for two days after the other day and it looked as tough a run today as it was the other day. He was on sheer heart the last bit."
A $150,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Riverina Downs draft for his trainer and Astute Bloodstock, Shelby Sixtysix is the first winner from Storm Kite, a sydney metro winning half-sister by Honour’s List (IRE) to stakes-winner Prophet’s Kiss.
Storm Kite died in 2021 and her final foal is a two year old Territories (IRE) filly called Incorporation.
Shelby Sixtysix is the 24th stakes-winner for Toronado, who covered 172 mares last spring at the increased fee of $49,500.
