COMEBACK rider Blake Shinn will have a prime chance at one of the early group 1 races for 2012 after being confirmed as the new rider for next month's Blue Diamond Stakes favourite Jimando, reports The Age. It says: Trainer Tony McEvoy said yesterday he had given plenty of thought to who would partner the colt for his return race at Caulfield on Saturday and had opted for Shinn because of his knowledge of elite race riding in Melbourne and Sydney. ''This colt will go straight to Sydney after the
COMEBACK rider Blake Shinn will have a prime chance at one of the early group 1 races for 2012 after being confirmed as the new rider for next month's Blue Diamond Stakes favourite Jimando, reports The Age.
It says: Trainer Tony McEvoy said yesterday he had given plenty of thought to who would partner the colt for his return race at Caulfield on Saturday and had opted for Shinn because of his knowledge of elite race riding in Melbourne and Sydney.
''This colt will go straight to Sydney after the Blue Diamond for the Golden Slipper and I think it's vitally important to have the right rider for both places and Blake fits the bill perfectly,'' McEvoy said yesterday. ''Blake's an outstanding jockey, as we all know, he seems very focused at the moment as he's making his way back from his [gambling] troubles. You need a jockey with these young horses that can anticipate and predict what is happening around them and look, he's just riding in such hot form that he nearly picks himself.''
Shinn has only been back riding for a month after a 15-month ban for betting offences, but has already had a string of winners recently in Sydney.