Shawhill, who has run extremely well for me without winning, takes her chance tomorrow in a listed race at Le Lion D’Angers in France. It’s a fairly bold move – she’s proved that she’s a decent handicapper but she’s done nothing to suggest she can compete at listed level.
I’m very happy to be taking this chance. It’s the right sort of race for her and I expect her to run fully up to her ability – we will find out how good she is and also perhaps how well she travels. We could carry on campaigning her in handicaps in the UK but I prefer to push on and put her to the test – the question I want answering is whether we should be trying to make the most of her now or keeping her campaign light with a view to a decent 4yo year.