Horse racing: Trainer Josh Shaw pays late entry fee to get Faraglioni into Arrowfield Stud Plate

Faraglioni was a late entry and she is set to race at Hastings. Photo / Race Images

Josh Shaw doesn’t even want to know what the late payment fee for Saturday’s $400,000 Arrowfield Stud Plate was.

“I just told them we would pay it and will worry about how much it is later,” he smiles.

Shaw trains under-rated mare Faraglioni, who was a late entry for this Saturday’s second Group 1 of the season at Hastings.

Faraglioni wasn’t in the original entries for the Arrowfield as Shaw wasn’t entirely convinced she is a true 1600m horse but after a brave first-up second to Grail Seeker in the Tarzino Trophy over 1400m three weeks ago he is willing to find out.

Faraglioni is a natural front of the field mare but yet to win over 1600m in two attempts, albeit she did finish second to Desert Lightning in the TAB Classic at Trentham last December, the race that infamously needed a re-start after a starting gate malfunction at the first attempt.

“I am still not convinced a mile is her peak distance but I also think a Hastings mile isn’t as hard as one at Trentham,” says Shaw.

“So we paid the late entry fee and I don’t even know what it was. I am confident whatever happens Saturday we will win at least that much back.”

The decision was made easier by some of the bigger names of the spring so far not heading to Hastings.

Grail Seeker is absent as she will concentrate on sprinting, Crocetti is spelling and will then do the same and Orchestral was quite rightly deemed not ready to win fresh up over 1600m at this level.

She started over 1400m at Ellerslie on Saturday and her connections say they may wait until next week before confirming her next start, with both Melbourne and Sydney possible destinations.
Those defections and a few others mean Faraglioni slid straight back into the field as the $5 second favourite behind Skew Wiff, who also must have at least some doubts over whether she is as potent over 1600m as she is over 1400m.

The confused Arrowfield market has Malt Time as the $5 equal second favourite in what will be the first Group 1 ride for young jockey Ace Lawson-Carroll.

The Levin-based Shaw says Faraglioni came through her fresh-up second well and he hopes winning a major with her this season can help propel him into the spotlight.

“I am hoping she can take me to a new level and get people thinking of my stable come sales time,” he admits.

The Arrowfield still boasts good depth but with plenty of horses like El Vencedor, Pearl Of Alsace and One Bold Cat who may be even better suited up to the 2040m of the Livamol Classic two weeks later.

The make-up of the final field won’t be determined until mid-morning on Wednesday as the maximum field size is 14 and there were still 20 in the nominations last night.

One of those not guaranteed a start is Australian visitor Rolls, who sits 19th in the order of entry so needs five withdrawals today to gain a start.

He has therefore also been nominated for the 2000m open handicap on Saturday in case he doesn’t make the Arrowfield.

Just as even as with almost as much at stake is the $175,000 AHD Hawke’s Bay Guineas, with 11 of the 13 entries eligible for the NZB Kiwi as 3-year-old season steps up a level.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s racing editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.