Popular veteran Who Shot Thebarman has completed a perfectly-timed performance to claim a well-deserved win in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Royal Randwick this afternoon.
Incredibly, this was the fifth time that Who Shot Thebarman contested the Sydney Cup and the nine-year-old wound back the clock with one of the best performances of his career to date.
Jumping from the gates well, jockey Blake Shinn elected to saddle Who Shot Thebarman off the early pace and Cismontaine, Aloft and Lord Fandango led the field past the post the first time.
Enjoying a carefree run in transit slightly worse than midfield, Shinn began to work the horse into the clear when the tempo lifted heading for home, but allowed Who Shot Thebarman plenty of time to balance before asking for an extra effort.
Mustering a big turn of foot, Who Shot Thebarman locked in a fierce sprint battle with Kiwi raider Zacada, but got his head down at the right time to win the race in a photo.
Shinn was elated to ride the veteran to only his second career Group 1 triumph.
“What a thrilling finish and if there’s ever a horse that deserves to win a Sydney Cup, beating narrowly in the last two, nine-year-olds old,” Shinn said.
“He’s got a great group of owners who follow him around every year and this is for them, this is for the horse, credit to Chris Waller and his team getting him to back-up every year.
“It means a lot to me to be able to do it for those guys. They’ve stuck solid to me for the last couple of years riding him and it’s a massive thrill to be able to get him over the line here today.”
A rising ten-year-old, trainer Chris Waller and connections will allow the horse to dictate whether or not another Melbourne Cup campaign is on the cards in spring.
In saddling Who Shot Thebarman to glory, Waller has prepared all three Group 1 winners on Day 2 of The Championships so far.