Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Inexperienced colt Soho Shakedown, making his first appearance at Gloucester Park, showed he is set for a bright career when he outclassed his quality rivals in the $21,000 HTA Setting New Standards In Hoisting Pace for three-year-olds on Friday night.
The Kim Prentice-trained Soho Shakedown was a strongly supported $2.20 favourite who began brilliantly from barrier four and was untroubled to set the pace for Mitch Miller and win by one and half lengths from Belly Up ($4.60), with Captain Stirling ($2.50) a close-up third.
After the race an excited Miller said: “He has all the attributes of a nice horse. He has got the manners, the attitude, the depth and a bit of speed, so he’s got it all.
“I was not overly confident that he could cross Belly Up (barrier one) and Captain Stirling (barrier two). He hadn’t faced up against the level of horses like them, but he left the arm as good as he ever has, and I think that will be a big asset, going forward.
“He never looks overly flash the way he goes about his business. He will only do what the horse outside of him makes him do. Once he gets up against the better ones will make him a better horse.”
Soho Shakedown is by former champion pacer Soho Tribeca, winner of the 2016 Golden Nugget and the 2018 WA Pacing Cup, who retired with earnings of $1,103,854 from 21 wins and 24 placings from 59 starts. He is out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Soho All Shook Up, who was retired as a two-year-old after two starts in Victoria, including a win over 16900m on debut at Maryborough on February 2, 2017.