Coming along the back of the Racecourse, the field negotiated the three jumps successfully and The Fox was doing it well with a length and a half lead.
There was a bit of heart-in-mouth stuff on the next trot past the grandstand as New Plymouth horse No Deal stumbled over the second jump and jockey Stephan Karnicnik only just stayed in the saddle, while The Fox continued to lead Hard Shot along with And Thatz Scotty with the field rapidly bunching up behind them.
But the leaders were tiring and the favourites began to kick home by the time the field reached the final bend, breaking out into a long line, as Twentythirtyfour had taken the advantage but Shamal was not letting go coming down the rail.
Needing two perfect jumps, Cropp got Shamal up and over both of them flawlessly to extend the advantage, beating the favourite to the post by two and a half lengths in 5m 9.03s.
Shamal's backers picked up a healthy $6.10 at the tote for the win.
There had been delays in the nine race meeting after tragedy occurred in the $10,000 Infusion Catering MDN 3000m at 12.30pm.
Stratford's Good Risk had to be put down after a bad fall, while Awapuni's Platinum Song also died in what was a suspected heart attack.
