2025 Ballarat Cup waiting game with Shaiyhar
Shaiyhar’s appearance in Saturday’s Ballarat Cup will depend on how he pulls up after a Cranbourne gallop as trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young monitor his recovery.
The imported gelding suffered a stone bruise last week, delaying his preparation, though the stable remains hopeful he will be fit for the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m).
He is one of 29 horses nominated for the feature, with acceptances to be finalised Wednesday morning.
Shaiyhar made an encouraging start when joining Busuttin and Young from France in 2023 but has since found it difficult to reach the level anticipated.
He defeated Deakin in a 2000m Flemington event earlier this year and has since placed in four of eight attempts.
His most recent outing produced a third placing behind Kingswood and Saint George in the Listed Cup Day Plate (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day.
“He was good when he ran third in the Listed race at Flemington,” Young said.
“But he had a little bit of a stone bruise last week that was causing a bit of a concern.
“He galloped up good on Saturday and pulled-up nice and sound. We gave him a little more work on Tuesday, and we’ll see how he is before making a final decision.
“He loves 2000 metres, which is a little bit further than last start and hopefully Ballarat is not a wash out like it has been in previous years.
“He doesn’t like it too wet and hopefully the weather gods are in his favour.”
The Ballarat track sat at a Heavy 8 rating when nominations were lodged on Monday.
Warmer, dry weather is forecast midweek before showers and cooler conditions return for Saturday.
If you're planning to bet on the Ballarat Cup, compare Australia’s leading bookies at JustHorseRacing’s bookmaker hub.
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