Alex Rae had a big team jump out at Cranbourne on Monday, but none impressed more than Shock ‘Em Ova (NZ) (Shocking), who showed he’s returned in fantastic order ahead of the spring.
The lightly raced five-year-old scored a jumpout victory over 1000m, finishing just ahead of Mick Price-Michael Kent Jnr stablemates Annavisto and Globe.
“Shock ‘Em Ova, he’s the hope of the stable now, he’s extremely talented,” Rae said.
“He’s trialled brilliantly and we’ve given him plenty of time.
“He’s had five starts and never had a soundness problem in his life.
“He’s hopefully got a bright 18 months ahead of him, we’ve just given him time being a big, raw stayer like he is.”
A $26,000 bargain buy from Karaka, Shock ‘Em Ova has already built a solid career during his first two racing preparations, recording two wins and two second placings from five starts.
But Rae says he isn’t planning on raising the bar sky high for the inexperienced son of Shocking this campaign.
“He’ll kick off at Sandown at the end of the month on August 30, hopefully he can get to a country cup or a grand final later in the spring,” he said.
“The further the better for him so you have to think of races like the Bendigo Cup or Pakenham Cups later in the spring.
“He’s still such a raw product and inexperienced, so we’ll be looking to get some solid racing into him.”
