KEY POINTS:
Trainer Richard Collett can be the master of the understatement at times.
Collett says Shanzero: "Might lack a little in experience at Te Rapa on Saturday."
A little experience!
The hugely-talented filly has had five career starts and in her first start in top company against the older
horses drops into the group one $200,000 Waikato Draught Sprint.
Shanzero meets classy and seasoned campaigners like Mufhasa, Jurys Out, Ruud Van Slaats, Nom du Jeu and Red Ruler.
Fair to say that's giving away a decent stretch of experience.
Collett is not fazed about a lack of experience with a filly he knows is top class. In fact, he feels he's already over the first hurdle.
"When I saw the nominations for the race I thought there might be a chance she wouldn't make the field."
In a race so competitive it smacks of the recent $1 million Telegraph, the Waikato Draught will see Shanzero drop back early.
She showed those tactics suit her when she overcame massive difficulties to come from an impossible tail-end position to win the Wellington Stakes at Trentham last start.
There are a few contingencies Collett will be relying upon.
"It'll be an aggressive race," he says.
"She'll get home late. She'll have to do some work at some part of the race and it will be in the final stages.
"The pull in the weights will help."
Shanzero comes into the race with 53.5kg compared to 59kg for Mufhasa and 57kg for Ruud Van Slaats.
The weight scale of weight-for-age racing is meant to deliver an equal chance to each horse, but in reality in recent decades top class 3-year-olds like Shanzero have proven difficult for the older horses to beat once past the New Year period when the second-season performers often strengthening rapidly.
"It'll be an interesting race," says Collett.
"If we can settle in front of a couple or three or four early I'll be comfortable."
Mufhasa has had an outstanding summer campaign, while Red Ruler and Nom Du Jeu are resuming after contesting the Hastings spring treble.
Veloce Bella has excelled in barrier practice at Matamata this week after missing the start badly and costing herself what looked like certain victory in the Skycity Casino Cup at Te Rapa.
Veloce Bella lost conservatively eight lengths by standing in the starting stalls and was beaten into third by a long neck.
She was directed to be put through the starting stalls before racing again.
"The problem last week was she was upset by having hit the front of the barrier at Trentham at her previous start when the stalls didn't open," says trainer Mark Brosnan.
He removed the starting blanket which Veloce Bella has worn virtually from the start of her career and she showed no sign of a problem in the gates this week.
Brosnan's initial concern about running in Saturday's $200,000 Whakanui Stud Stakes at Te Rapa is the seven-day back-up.
"She made things tough for herself last week and in doing so did a lot more than I'd wanted.
But, remarkably, she bounced through the race beautifully."