Shangri La Spring earns 2025 Queensland Derby bid

A shift in plans has paid dividends for Shangri La Spring, who secured a tough on-speed win in the Frank Packer Plate at Randwick, setting up a tilt at the Queensland Derby in the coming months.

Trainer Adrian Bott, who prepares the colt in partnership with Gai Waterhouse, had hoped the three-year-old could be ready in time for the ATC Australian Derby (2400m), but fitness setbacks meant a more gradual build-up was necessary.

“I wanted to try to get him here for the ATC Derby. We gave him a short turnaround off the back of his winter campaign and thought we’d give him that option,” Bott explained.

“It has just taken a bit longer to get him fit than we wanted so we thought the Carbine (Club Stakes) and Frank Packer would be a better program and then we could aim up (to the Queensland Derby) if we ticked those boxes.”

After finishing fourth in the Carbine Club Stakes (1600m), Tim Clark admitted he may have asked too much too soon of the colt.

“It was probably a little bit my fault the other day. He probably wasn’t quite ready to be ridden like he was, second-up at a mile,” Clark said.

“That probably held him in good stead for today having a really good, toughen-up run under his belt on the back of Gai and Adrian’s advice to hold him up a bit more today, and getting out to 2000 metres, to trust his turn of foot.”

Shangri La Spring was able to dictate terms up front and finished strongly to defeat Firm Agreement ($4.40) by three-quarters of a length, with Plymouth ($7.50) third.

Short-priced favourite Swiftfalcon ($1.90) loomed ominously but failed to let down, finishing fourth and prompting jockey Tyler Schiller to suggest a distance query.

“He has probably come to the end of his prep,” Schiller said. “He’s definitely not a 2000 metre horse. He might be a mile/18[00]. He had every chance today.”