James Shaw might only be a recent convert to coursing, but he finds himself in a position of great strength heading into Sunday’s decisive second day of competition in the Waterloo Cup at Lang Lang.
The young Seymour trainer has three of the remaining six contenders vying for coursing’s most coveted trophy and the attractive $15,000 winner’s purse.
Shaw, 32, is assured of at least one semi-finalist, with Zinzan Brooke x Alpha Nemesis litter sisters Crabby Yabby and Nine Nine to stage a ‘family feud’ in a quarter final.
While Master Ogilvie, which ran a close third in the recent Victorian Straight Track Championship at Healesville, could well prove to be the ace in the former Kiwi’s hand.
“I’m hoping I have the top half of the draw covered,” Shaw said.
“I can’t have two finalists – if Master Ogilvie wins, he’ll be against either Crabby Yabby or Nine Nine in the semis – but I’m just rapt to get three through to the quarter-finals.
“It’s only the second year I’ve gone in the Waterloo Cup and it’s a bit of a buzz to get one into the semi-finals, at least. It would be the biggest race I’ve won if I was able to get the win.”
Nine Nine is the most experienced courser of Shaw’s trio, having competed last year, while newcomers Crabby Yabby and Master Ogilvie have enjoyed a perfect introduction, both winning two events at Longwood along the path to Sunday’s ultimate goal.
“In terms of times, Crabby Yabby and Nine Nine were pretty even last week,” Shaw said.
“But if I were to pick one, I’d say Crabby Yabby because I think she could lead. In any kind of racing if you’re in front, it’s an advantage.
“When I broke them in, Crabby Yabby was always better and I felt Nine Nine wasn’t chasing that well, which is why I took her coursing. She was a bit of a bridesmaid last year but has stepped up this year and had a couple of wins.”
Shaw rates Master Ogilvie as his best chance of securing coursing’s ultimate prize, after narrowly missing out on representing Victoria in Saturday morning’s National Straight Track Championship final in Sydney.
“I’m a bit bullish about Master Ogilvie. He’s certainly suited to coursing,” Shaw said.
“He flies up the straight. His run at Healesville, the week prior, in the (Victorian) Straight Track Championship, was enormous. He was only beaten two lengths, coming from last.
“Timewise, Master Ogilvie has about two and a half lengths on my other two, so if he gets into the semi-finals, I’d expect him to go through to the final.
“Times are quite a good gauge with coursing because there’s not too much interference, so the fastest generally does win.”
