A significant weight drop has paved the way to Here To Shock landing a second win in Stakes company, producing a strong finishing burst at Caulfield.
Here To Shock gave Lindsay Park trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes their first win in the Group 3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) on Saturday.
Dropping 6.5kg in weight from his last start at Echuca and appreciating a solid tempo under Daniel Stackhouse, Here To Shock ($6.50) scored a half-length win from Seonee ($4.40), with The Inferno ($14) two lengths away in third place.
Here To Shock has been a consistent performer for Lindsay Park since joining their stable from Brent Stanley, winning the Listed Golden Mile (1600m) at Bendigo almost 12 months ago.
Will Hayes said Here To Shock had derived a great deal of benefit from his first-up run in the Echuca Cup (1400m) last month when finishing third.
"He's a horse that enjoys space between his runs and to get such a great ride from Stacky from a wide gate was great," Hayes said.
"He got him to relax and hit the line strong.
"I was really confident at the top of the straight because of how well he relaxed in the run.
"He was benefitted by a nice race tempo, but then if you can add that to his bag of tricks, he will be a hard horse to beat going forward."
Here To Shock was sent for a spell following his Golden Mile victory last year, but Hayes said, all going well, the gelding was in for a long campaign this time around, after a spring campaign that saw him have his sole outing at Group 1 level.
"He's one that we'll hopefully keep up and going for a long time over the coming months," Hayes said.
"There's the Winter Championships coming up, so there's a lot of options and races for him.
"He's in good order and it's a good problem to have."