Victorian Set To ‘Shake' Up Ladies Bracelet

FORMER national table tennis champion Robin Moore has left nothing to chance in pursuit of a breakthrough Group race success in Saturday night's G3 Ladies Bracelet heats (520m).

The Victorian trainer has home-bred talent Shake It Off (box 1) engaged in the second of three heats of the prestigious female feature sprint.

Moore learned the hard way about the difficulties of tackling Wentworth Park first-up the last time he raced at the famed Glebe circuit, back in 2016.

FIELDS AND FORM WENTWORTH PARK SATURDAY NIGHT

On that occasion, Shake It Off's mother, Amelia Christa, started a warm favourite, but the G2 Traralgon Cup finalist only beat one home.

"She bombed the start; made a meal of it," Moore recalled ruefully.

That disappointment was at the forefront of Moore's thinking when the Devon Meadows mentor decided to target the Ladies Bracelet with Shake It Off.

"This race was a little bit of a plan," he said.

"It's a bit of a throw at the stumps, but I suspected Mackenna wasn't going to be in the race, which made it more enticing!

"I trialled Shake It Off at Wentworth Park about ten days ago and she went alright, without setting the world on fire.

"I've noticed a lot of Victorians go up to Wentworth Park and make a mess of the start, so I wanted to give her every chance.

"Winning a race at Wentworth Park is on my bucket list.

"But it's not easy and vice versa when NSW dogs come to Victoria, because it's very different."

Shake It Off, a September '21 daughter of champion sire Fernando Bale, has won seven of her 17 starts, with slick PBs of 29.38 at Sandown Park and 29.95 at The Meadows.

However, she hasn't yet won in three appearances off the red.

"It (box 1) used to be a problem, but she seems to be handling it a bit better than she was," Moore explained.

"Sometimes she wanted to use a bit of the track early.

"It will be all about the start – the first 15 metres.

"If she begins on terms with them and can hold her ground I think she'd be a good chance.

"In her trial, she really played up in the boxes, which she never does, and I think that's why her first section wasn't great.

"But she consistently runs around 5.10 early at Sandown and The Meadows and her asset is her strength. Her run-home is very good."

After a long career representing Australia in table tennis, competing in Commonwealth Games and world championships, Moore, with "behind the scenes" support from wife Michelle, has made a successful transition to a vastly different arena.

"I suppose they're a little bit similar in that they're both individual sports," he said.

Shake It Off is one of two Victorians contesting the Bracelet heats.

Aunt Virginia (heat 3, box 3), trained by John and Andrew Paraskevas, is taking aim at her third feature event at Wentworth Park after qualifying for the finals of the G1 National Futurity and G3 New Sensation.