Lindsay Park is set to field a powerful trio in Saturday’s Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington. A significant drawcard will be the return of champion jockey Blake Shinn, who is booked to ride War Machine. This marks Shinn’s first competitive outing since a serious fall on Melbourne Cup Day.
Adding depth to the stable’s challenge, Mark Zahra is returning from his winter break to partner Arkansaw Kid, fresh from his campaign at Royal Ascot. Jye McNeil will complete the Lindsay Park line-up aboard Ndola, a horse coming off a recent victory.
The stable is aiming to secure their first win in the Aurie’s Star Handicap since So Si Bon claimed the Group 3 sprint in 2019, when David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig were in charge of the yard.
Ben Hayes revealed that Blake Shinn made the decision to ride War Machine after partnering both stablemates in jump-outs at Flemington last Friday. “He rode them both in jump-outs last Friday and I don’t think there’s much between them,” Hayes explained. “He knows War Machine well and he’s going back to his old buddy.”
War Machine has not raced since finishing third in the Newmarket Handicap over the Flemington straight back in March. Hayes stated that the gelding has benefited from an extended spell following a taxing preparation that began when he joined the stable in April of the previous year.
“He lost his way a bit last preparation,” Hayes said. “He had a long prep. He went to Queensland, freshened, came back, went to The Everest, came back, but just didn’t come up in the autumn. He had a long break, and he seems to have come back really well. His work at home has been great and seems a happier horse. He’s enjoying his trackwork, so hopefully that converts to some good runs.”
Arkansaw Kid has undergone a different preparation, spending time at Lindsay Park’s Euroa property and Pakenham before recent jump-outs at Traralgon and Flemington. “We changed things around with him to keep him thinking,” Hayes elaborated. “He’s been in work a long time, so it was like changing stables, without changing stables. I thought his Traralgon jump-out was good, his jump-out on Friday was great and he’s always been a consistent, good horse for the stable and is a horse we all love. He’s good down the straight, he’s won a couple of Bobbie Lewis Qualities, so he knows what he’s doing.”
Ndola heads into Saturday’s feature race in winning form after taking out the Listed Santa Ana Lane Series Final first-up on July 4. He then went on to defeat War Machine in a jump-out last week. Hayes mentioned that the trial was designed to keep the gelding fit during the four-week interval between races.
“He was good fresh when he got away with murder in front and they couldn’t catch him,” Hayes stated. “It’s a step up in class and he’s running against some very good horses, but he deserves to be there.”
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