Tshiebwe looks the ideal type for tomorrow's Wellington Cup. Photo/Jane Davidson
WELLINGTON CUP DAY
What: Wellington’s biggest race day.
Where: Trentham.
When: Saturday, first race 12.40pm.
Highlights: $400,000 NZ Campus Of Innovation And Sport Wellington Cup, $350,000 Life Direct Remutaka Classic, $175,000 Jennian Homes Lowland Stakes.
Punt: Fixed odds out at tab.co.nz
Tshiebwe may be named after an international basketball star but he has Taranaki horse trainer Allan Sharrock written all over him
The six-year-old has emerged as one of the main chances in tomorrow’s $400,000 Wellington Cup at Trentham after what appears to be a perfectly orchestrated campaign from the astute trainer who specialises in such things.
Sharrock has won two Auckland Cups (Shez Sinsational in 2012 and Ladies First in 2018) and a Wellington Cup with Waisake in 2021 with a crucial factor being getting them into the 3200m races carrying the right weight.
Shez Sinsational was a high-class mare, so carried a fair 55kg, but Ladies First only had 54kg in her Cup win and Waisake snuck in with 53kg, the sort which would delight Sharrock almost as much as the victories themselves.
It takes a lot of planning to get a horse fit enough to win over 3200m but without copping too much weight and those tactics include stepping up in distance, teaching the horse to settle but not having them honed to peak fitness until Grand Final day.
Sharrock is also cunning enough to keep bonus boosts like blinkers up his sleeve until the right race yet he admits that while he has got the weight right with Tshiebwe, he has had to be more flexible with this preparation.
Note: Since you were wondering, Tshiebwe is named after Congolese-born basketballer Oscar Tshiebwe, who was a college star in the US and now plays for the Utah Jazz.
Anyway, back to the horse. The equine Tshiebwe isn’t quite as athletic as the basketballer so Sharrock has had to be kinder to him in his build-up to tomorrow’s Cup.
“I usually like to give them the Bart Cummings preparation, with at least 10,000m of races under their belt in the campaign before we go to a 3200m Cup,” explains Sharrock.
“But this fella is a big skinny thing and wouldn’t cop that.
“So rather than go to the Trentham Stakes like I usually would have two weeks ago I got him ready with his second in the Marton Cup [Jan 3] and have kept him ticking over since then.”
Sharrock is happy he has got that balance right, has an ideal draw at barrier 11, and Samantha Collett, who won him his last Wellington Cup on Waisake, in the saddle.
“Sam is riding very well and I like having her on my horses. She is a positive person who enjoys life and that’s part of the fun of racing.”
While Tshiebwe’s dam Ain’t No Lollygagga never won past 1400m, Sharrock is confident those genetics won’t be a hindrance to his gelding as he is from a tough old Taranaki family and by Victoria Derby winner Tarzino.
“I think he has a lot of things in his favour and we will give it a real fright.”
The Cup does of course have plenty of depth from newcomer Rosso, Group 1 winner One Bold Cat, former Melbourne Cup contender Interpretation and even last season’s Auckland Cup winner Trav, who gets in to this race incredibly well weighted with 53kg.
Sharrock suggests Herald readers check out Shacktime (R3, No.10) who finds herself in the right race at Trentham, while at Ellerslie, he has Tisse in the open handicap staying race looking to pay punters back after a bludging effort in the Queen Elizabeth Cup on New Year’s Day.
“He was very disappointing that day and I don’t really know why,” he admits.
“So we will press on and this race should get him fitter for both the Avondale Cup and Auckland Cup, but because they are his main aims, he won’t quite be at his peak for this.”
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.