May 19 - Come Saturday, top-rated Australian trainer Mark Kavanagh is confident that his charge Shocking will be able to deliver a win in the 2000m Hydrogen Handicap at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, just a week after the promising three-year-old colt won his first 1600m outing at the same venue.

Said the trainer, 'Shocking has taken a bit of time to reach his potential, but we couldn't get him going any earlier because he's allergic to dust and sawdust. His nose was wet all the time and if we took him off any of the powders for it, he would pick it up. But now that we've changed his bedding, he is on his way.'

Owned by well-known Australian racehorse owner, Lawrence Eales, Shocking has a strong lineage. He is by Street Cry, the sire of impressive Caulfield Guineas winner, Whobegotyou. Out of six career races, Shocking has notched up two wins - his first in April this year - and has only finished unplaced once.

Shocking's rise to form started in March this year at Ballarat Turf Club, where he finished a length behind Testaguy in a 1200m maiden for three-year-olds. He then won a 1300m maiden at Bendigo Racecourse in April, and in May he headed off to Caulfield, where he came second to Awimoweh over 1600m.

And finally last weekend also at Caulfield, Shocking dazzled by fighting off a hardy challenge by another promising runner, Laconian, to win the 1600 K A Morrison Handicap by a half-neck. As such, Kavanagh has high hopes that the gutsy colt can repeat his winning performance in Saturday's Hydrogen Handicap.

Said Kavanagh, 'If Laconian hadn't been in the race, Shocking would probably have won by the same distance. He's learning to get his act together and grind and win. He rolled around a bit and there is a lot of improvement in him. We were put back a bit by his problems, but in saying that it hasn't hurt him one bit.'

The Hydrogen Handicap will be the colt's first outing at 2000m, but the trainer is looking forward to seeing how he handles the additional distance. 'We might back up on Saturday and see where we are from there. Shocking's got to keep improving to really get up there, but he's got a bit more potential than most.'

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2011/12/09 12:49:04 AM