Shadhavar gives Dabernig first solo Group One win in C F Orr Stakes
Kerrin McEvoy guided the mare to victory at Sandown, with Pericles second and favourite Jimmysstar third.
Tom Dabernig has claimed his first Group One success as a trainer in his own right, with Shadhavar winning the C F Orr Stakes at Sandown under Kerrin McEvoy.
After racing alongside Beiwacht, Shadhavar moved ahead early in the straight and resisted Pericles’ late challenge to win by 3/4 of a length. Favourite Jimmysstar finished third, another 2-1/4 lengths behind.
The breakthrough came on Dabernig’s eighth attempt at Group One level since becoming a solo trainer. He established himself at Warrnambool in 2021 after training alongside David Hayes and later Ben Hayes at Lindsay Park.
Dabernig said Shadhavar had been with his stable since she was a yearling and had improved after stepping up to 1,400 metres. She remains unbeaten across three starts at that distance.
Her usual jockey, Craig Williams, rode Pericles because of an earlier commitment made before Shadhavar’s Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes victory at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day.
That opened the ride for McEvoy, whose previous Melbourne Group One victory was Cross Counter’s 2018 Melbourne Cup. McEvoy said he had known Dabernig since his apprenticeship at Lindsay Park but had not ridden for him since he began training independently.
